


Legendary Legacy

by ChibiDawn23



Series: Legendary Legacy [2]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue, Power Rangers Megaforce
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 71
Words: 155,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23364820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiDawn23/pseuds/ChibiDawn23
Summary: The battle for Earth is in the hands of Troy Burrows Grayson and the Megaforce Rangers. When your parents AND your aunt and uncle were all Lightspeed Rangers...well, no pressure to save the world there, right? Sequel to "In a Heartbeat" and an almost total rewrite of the disappointing Megaforce/Super Megaforce season.
Relationships: Angela Fairweather/Joel Rawlings, Carter Grayson/Dana Mitchell, Chad Lee/Original Female Character(s), Jake Holling/Gia Moran, Ryan Mitchell/Kelsey Winslow, Troy Burrows/Emma Goodall
Series: Legendary Legacy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1679692
Comments: 16
Kudos: 35





	1. Weird Dreams

"Troy!" his father, Carter, yelled through his closed bedroom door. "Hey, buddy, wake up!"

The urgency in his father's voice woke Troy Grayson out of a dead sleep, and he rolled, facing his alarm clock. Which had been steadily going off for the past nine minutes. "Oh _shoot_ ," Troy groaned, throwing the denim comforter back and hopping out of bed. He stumbled his way to his closet and yanked out a pair of jeans, fumbled in his dresser for a t-shirt, pulling the first one out he could get his fingers wrapped around, and then completely forgot socks as he reached for his backpack, which had been neatly packed last night and was now sitting on his desk.

"You decent?" Carter called through the door, and Troy barely managed a "Yeah!" as he threw his backpack over his shoulder.

The door opened, and Carter Grayson's six-foot-two frame filled the doorway, in a pair of jeans and a black HARWOOD COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT t-shirt. He went over to Troy's alarm clock and flicked it off, silencing the annoying alarm. He looked over at his son with a small grin. "Ready for your first day of school?" Carter asked with a raised eyebrow.

Troy was _so_ not awake. "Yeah, I guess," Troy responded. He shifted under his father's gaze as Carter waited, knowing there was more his son wanted to say. "Still wish we were back in Mariner Bay," he added after a minute.

Carter's grin faded and he nodded knowingly. "I know, buddy. But your mom couldn't pass up the position at the hospital here. It's a huge step in her career."

Troy nodded. "No, I get that. I just…" He hefted his backpack on his shoulders. "First day at new school jitters, I guess," he said lamely.

"You're a good kid," Carter told him, crossing the room and giving him a one-armed hug. "You'll make friends, I promise."

Troy looked up at his dad. "Nice pep talk, Coach." He rolled his eyes. "Could that have _gotten_ any more After School Special?"

"Guys! The bus is here!" Dana Grayson called from the kitchen downstairs. "Get a move on!"

Carter pushed his son out of the room. "Go!" he told him, and Troy flew out of the room. Carter glanced over at his desk chair and grabbed his son's black leather jacket. Why he'd bought a black leather jacket was a bone of contention between father and son-Carter had thought it was a pointless purchase and his son had bought it anyway. He'd been wearing it every day since they'd moved to Harwood a week ago. Dana figured it was some kind of security blanket, and while Carter didn't approve, a first day of school was a good a reason as any to have a security blanket. "Troy!" Carter caught his son at the bottom of the stairs and tossed the balled-up jacket at him. Troy caught it with one hand.

"Have a good day," Carter told him, and Troy nodded. "Thanks, Dad."

"Enough male bonding!" Dana Grayson came into the entryway, neatly put away in her gray slacks, light purple blouse and briefcase. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight bun. "Troy, get on the bus before you have to walk to school." She kissed Troy's forehead. "See you tonight."

Troy opened the door and bolted down the walk, vaulting over the fence to the bus. The Graysons watched him make his way to the back and take a seat in the second to last row. This was the first day of his junior year. Another milestone gone. Dana sighed and leaned into her husband.

"This was a good decision, right?" Dana asked Carter, looking up at his gray eyes.

Carter watched the bus rumble down the street. "I think it will be," he replied. He glanced at his wife's watch. "Speaking of late…" He ducked around his wife and ran into the kitchen, returning with a thermos of black coffee and a small insulated lunch bag. "You're going to be if you don't get moving." He kissed her with gusto, which left her laughing, and then gently pushed her out the door. "I love you," he told her, turning serious.

Dana smiled back. "I love you too. See you tonight." She took two steps, then turned. "Carter…we _did_ make the right decision, didn't we?"

Carter stepped outside, leaving the door open a crack behind him, and took his wife in his arms. "Yes," he said reassuringly, rubbing the small of her back and giving her a hug. "Yes, we did."

"It's just…Troy starting a new school his junior year…leaving his friends behind…" Dana sighed.

"He'll make friends," Carter repeated the same thing he'd told their son. "And it's the beginning of the school year-that's plenty of time to get involved with clubs and activities at Harwood High." He held Dana out at arms' length and looked at his wife. "You wait- he'll probably be so busy soon that we'll have to worry about that instead of worrying about him being alone."

* * *

On the bus, Troy was dreaming….

_There was a massive explosion. Through the fire and flame came five figures, each wearing uniforms of red, yellow, green, blue and pink. All brandished a weapon of some kind, landing on their feet. Their uniforms were untarnished, no trace of singed fabric or burns anywhere on them._

_Behind them came another team, with the same sort of uniforms (boots, helmet), but these had animal emblems on the chests. The one in red was in the lead, followed by yellow, blue, white, and black. The final wore white as well, but his helmet had two pointed ears on either side. He swore he heard a growl emanate from the group._

_Others rushed by him on the ground, here a team with black numbers etched into the design on their chest, there a group with capes. One team appeared to have Japanese samurai robes; yet another had tiger stripes and leopard spots. They were all running toward the same thing-but he didn't know what that was. But he could hear it in the air-it was a fight, and it was massive._

_He felt the weight of the sword in his hands, and he looked up toward the top of the cliff. This was it. He looked at the group around him, uniforms of red, black, yellow and pink, with gold accenting on the chestplate and helmet. They looked to him as leader. He nodded. With a loud battle cry, they joined in the fray…_

"Yo! New kid! Wake up!"

Troy's eyes snapped open, and it took a moment for him to register where he was. Brown seats…glass windows...oh. He'd fallen asleep on the bus. His bus. His new bus, taking him to his new school. He blinked, but the images stayed with him. "Weird dream," he said aloud, shaking his head to clear it.

"Are you gettin' off the bus or what?" the bus driver demanded, not even bothering to turn and look at him. As Troy woke up –again-he realized that he was the only person left on the bus, save the bus driver. _Whoops_.

"You'll be late for your first day of school!" The driver said it as if it was the world's greatest rule infraction.

"Wouldn't want that," Troy agreed with him, grabbing his backpack from the floor. "Thanks." He jumped off the bus and followed the crowd into the building, trying to shake the dream off.

But it was hard to shake.

He'd been having the same dream, in bits and pieces, since his father had announced they were moving from Mariner Bay to Harwood County.

There was one set of the brightly-colored heroes he recognized in the dream-his mother and father. Carter and Dana Grayson (Mitchell at the time) had been Power Rangers-part of a team chosen to protect the earth in time of need. Their photos were plastered all over Mariner Bay-they tended to immortalize heroes that way. There was even a unit in their history classes on the demons and the battle with the Rangers that eventually defeated them. Troy's parents were no longer active rangers, yet they were still saving the community. His father was a firefighter, his mother a doctor. Both had kept steady work in Mariner Bay until the chief pediatrician job opened up in Harwood and they'd moved.

Being a hero ran in the family, Troy reflected, as he followed the sign to the administrative office. His Uncle Ryan and Aunt Kelsey had been rangers too, and his grandfather Bill Mitchell had been in charge of the Lightspeed Aquabase, the installation created to defend the city.

 _Great legacy to try to live up to_ , Troy sighed as he cleared his throat to get the attention of the secretary behind the desk. "Hi. Um, I'm Troy Burrows." His parents had decided to let Troy use his middle name (he was named after his father, Carter Troy Grayson, and his late Grandma Mitchell-Maureen Burrows Mitchell) at the new school, at the risk of revealing he was the son of two well-known figures. Partly for his safety and mostly to keep people from asking a _ton_ of questions since the Lightspeed Rangers were publicly-known figures even outside of Mariner Bay.

"Oh!" she said pleasantly. "The new transfer from Mariner Bay!"

He nodded. "Yes ma'am, that's me." _As if there would be some other high school junior from three hours away standing awkwardly here._

"Wonderful." She smiled. "I'm Miss Beal." Troy waited. She clicked a few things on her computer and then turned to her printer. "This is your class schedule. Your first hour is Biology with Mr. Burley." Miss Beal handed the piece of paper to Troy. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to stop back in the office."

"Thank you," Troy said, hefting his backpack on his shoulder.

"Enjoy your first day!" Miss Beal waved to him. Troy gave her a one-finger wave back before walking down the completely-empty hallway in the general direction he remembered Classroom 8A to be. He found the classroom, and stopped outside the door. Mr. Burley was lecturing. _Great_. _Let's just make this more awkward by having me walk in mid-lesson._ "'Enjoy your first day' my eye," Troy sighed.


	2. The New Guy

"Okay class, let's start the year with a science brainteaser." Elton Burley pushed his glasses up on his nose and looked at his class. Twenty faces started idly back at him, caught in the first day of school stupor that was first period Biology. He did a quick mental role call in his head. There was one student missing-a new transfer with the last name of Burrows. _Late on his first day,_ Burley thought to himself. _No doubt filling out paperwork._ "What species will outlast all others on earth?" Mr. Burley continued his question.

Emma Goodall raised her hand. Emma was sitting in the front row, in the same seat she sat in for all his classes. Burley was glad to have Emma back. The young woman was passionate about the earth and her studies. Burley pointed at her and Emma said, "Insects. They'll survive all the bad stuff we're doing to the environment." She smiled. "Some have lots of legs. They'll be the last ones standing." He nodded approvingly, and turned to write her suggestion on the board.

Noah Carver raised his hand. Curly-haired Noah was another fine student, maintaining a straight-A average like Emma, and a member of the school's Science and Technology clubs.

"Dude, take it easy. You'll hurt yourself," Burley heard Jake Holling joke from behind Noah. Jake played on the school soccer team. The young man was a gifted athlete, albeit not always a gifted student. He and Noah were an unlikely pair, but they were best friends.

"She's wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong," Noah hissed back. He was practically hopping out of his desk now.

"Noah. You have a different answer?" Burley asked, amused.

"Robots," Noah announced, and the class snickered. "Robots powered by perpetual motion engines."

"Robots are machines, technically, they're _not_ a species." This observation came from Gia Moran, who was sitting across from Emma. In the senior yearbook next year, Gia Moran was Burley's pick to be voted Most Likely To Succeed-at least from the faculty's standpoint. Gia was a wonderful student, a volunteer after school, and dabbled in martial arts during the school year. A very well-rounded young lady.

"Beautiful _and_ smart," Burley heard Jake sigh and he made a mental note to keep an eye on the young man's crush on his classmate.

"And _wrong_ ," Noah countered.

"How am I-" A hand on her arm from Emma made Gia pause in her argument, and Burley sighed, about to remind them about talking out of turn, when the door to the classroom opened, and a young man stuck his head in the door. He wore jeans and sneakers, a red shirt and a black leather jacket. He had a red and white backpack slung over one shoulder. "Ah, you must be Troy," Burley said pleasantly. "Our new transfer student. Perhaps you can answer our brainteaser. What species will outlast all others on Earth?"

* * *

 _Awesome_ , Troy groaned inwardly. He hadn't even sat _down_ yet and was already getting put on the spot. And there were forty eyes staring at him. _No pressure_ , he thought, taking a breath and letting it out. "Us. Humans," he said finally.

Twenty pairs of eyes looked around the room at each other, then at the teacher, and then back to him.

"How's that, Troy?" Burley asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"If we work together, we can overcome anything," Troy said. He heard someone in the back snicker.

Burley considered his answer, and then nodded with a smile. "Interesting," he said finally, nodding to the lone empty seat in the room. Troy felt eyes burning into the back of his jacket as he sat down, setting his backpack on the floor. He ignored them as he watched Mr. Burley writing his answer on the board. "Well, Troy, I hope you're right." Burley continued. "Now, if everyone would please turn to page 30, where your journey into biology begins…"

Troy pulled out the book, happy to oblige. At least, for the moment, all eyes were off _him_.

* * *

Lunch was the worst. Troy was fine being ignored in classes-it wasn't like you could make friends with anybody in the five minutes before class started-but now came the fun part, where he walked into a crowded cafeteria and played the Hot Seat game-where could you sit and not be picked on, or not be in someone else's spot…He went through the line, choosing a boring ham sandwich, carrots and a little carton of milk, and found a spot in a far corner.

He spotted people he remembered from classes…there was the guy who had a soccer ball glued to his hand, or his knee, or his foot, or the cute blonde with the white sweater in his computer science class that didn't know how to turn the machine on…Across the way, he saw a girl in a black leather fashion jacket and skinny jeans talking to a girl in a denim jacket and pink shorts. The girl in pink had a camera in one hand as she balanced her lunch tray with the other. They were laughing about something. The girl in pink looked up and caught his eye. Troy ducked his head, but a moment later, he heard, "Can we sit with you?"

Troy looked up into a pair of pretty brown eyes. The two girls were staring at him, waiting patiently for him to reply. "Uh….sure," Troy replied. He motioned to the chairs across from him. "Have a seat."

"You're the new guy," the blonde announced. "Troy, right?"

He raised an eyebrow. She shrugged. "Burley said your name in Bio." She picked up her soda. "I'm Gia." She pointed with her can to the other girl. "This is Emma." The girl with the pretty brown eyes looked at him shyly and said, "Hi."

"I'm Troy," Troy said, and winced. _Duh_. The two girls exchanged looks.

"Yeah," Gia said with a smile at Emma, "we know."

"Right." Troy coughed and stared intently at his sandwich.

"So you just moved here?" Gia asked, content to carry on the conversation. She popped the tab off her soda can and set it on her tray.

"Yeah," Troy said. "Last week."

"Do you like it?" Emma asked him, munching on a carrot. She lifted her camera from around her neck and put it next to her on the table.

"So far," Troy replied noncommittally. "People seem nice. School's okay." He pointed at their food. "Cafeteria food doesn't suck."

The girls grinned. "You're getting it on a good day," Gia told him, and Troy grimaced at the thought. "So where you from originally?"

"Ah, Mariner Bay," Troy replied quietly. He paused. He could see Emma's mouth start to form the question, _the_ question that everybody asked upon finding out he was from Mariner Bay, and decided to beat her to the quick. "No, I don't know the Power Rangers. They were a little before my time." _Like, before I was born._

"Why'd you move here?" Emma skipped over the question easily.

Troy finished off his sandwich. "Um, my mom got a job at the hospital. She's a pediatrician."

"Oh, so she's replacing Dr. Weaver," Emma said, and she and Gia nodded knowingly. "Small town," Emma said off Troy's confused look. "Who's your mom?"

"She goes by Dr. Mitchell," Troy replied. It wasn't a complete lie. His mother hyphenated her name, so technically, it was a half-truth. "And my dad's a firefighter," he added before they could ask.

"Cool," Gia pronounced.

Just then, two more people plopped down next to Troy, Gia and Emma. "Ladies," Jake Holling announced, setting his soccer ball on the table, as Noah Carver put his tray down across from Emma. "New guy," Jake added, looking at Troy.

"Hi to you, too," Troy replied dryly.

"Who invited you over here?" Gia asked Jake.

"Jake wanted-" Noah was cut off by a slap to the back of the head by Jake. Troy caught Gia and Emma exchanging a look.

"Troy, this is Jake and Noah," Gia introduced the two boys, pointing to each of them. She looked at Troy. "Don't mind them-they don't have manners." Troy looked at Jake, who was busy pulling his ham sandwich apart with his fingers.

"Troy was in Bio with us this morning," Emma reminded them. "Jake and Noah, this is Troy. His mom is replacing Dr. Weaver."

"Cool," Jake said. "She's a kid doctor."

"Pediatrician," Noah corrected.

Jake shrugged. "Whatev." He picked up a carrot and twirled it in ranch dressing before popping the entire thing into his mouth. "You play soccer?" he asked Troy.

Troy shook his head. "No. I'm um….not really a teams guy," he said.

"Darn," Jake said, not really sounding upset about it. "We're looking for another player."

"Sorry," Troy shrugged.

"Where'd you move from?" Noah asked, and before Troy could rattle off his usual spiel, Emma cut in with, "He's from Mariner Bay, and no, don't even ask." She looked at him and offered him a smile. He nodded at her in thanks.

"How are you liking school so far?" Jake asked.

"It's not bad," Troy admitted. He pointed at the four of them with a carrot. "People seem nice."

"Yeah, we're okay once you get to know us. Even Noah," Gia teased.

"Hey!" Noah pushed his glasses up on his nose. Troy laughed.

By the time the lunch bell rang, he felt like he knew four people in the school he could be friends with. Or, at the very least, people who wouldn't ignore him in the halls. _That would be a nice change from Mariner Bay,_ he thought to himself as he dumped his tray in the garbage and headed off to his afternoon classes.


	3. An Adventure Begins

They'd asked him to go to Ernie's Brain Freeze, a frozen yogurt place in the mall after classes let out in the afternoon, but Troy declined, citing looking for a part time job and exploring the city. Both of which were true...just not for that first day. And when the final bell rang after his last class, Troy ducked out of school. He could take the bus home but…he just needed a place to be alone for a bit. Today'd stressed him out. He needed to relax, and knew the perfect way to unwind.

He watched Emma take off from the bike rack, on a blue BMX with a pink helmet. _She's cute_ , Troy admitted to himself. And she seemed really nice and genuine. She tempered Gia's fiery personality well. He had Gia in his US Government class and watched her argue with a fellow student today. She stood firm for what she believed in- _she'd be a good person to have on your side in a fight_ , Troy decided. Noah was only in his Biology class and while Noah was kind of annoying for knowing every answer Burley wanted, you couldn't help but like him. He was undecided on Jake, although he admired him for having Noah's back. There had to be a story there.

Troy glanced up at the school roof and looked around. Nobody was watching. He pulled out his phone and texted his parents. _Not taking the bus home. Exploring town. Be back later._ Then, he put his phone in his pocket, and went looking for a fire escape. Watching for security, Troy climbed it, and then hoisted himself up onto the school roof. He set his backpack down and looked around. Harwood High sat just before the city center, and he could see everything from up here. A few blocks away, he saw a two-story concrete and glass building and assumed it was the mall Jake had mentioned earlier-the one where the fro-yo place was.

He shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it on the rooftop, then took a deep breath. The moves came naturally. His mom and dad had enrolled Troy in karate a few years ago, in a class run by their good friend and fellow Ranger Chad Lee. As Troy performed the kata, his mind drifted…

* * *

_Mariner Bay-Six months ago_

_Troy stopped cold at the end of the driveway. His mother's blue Honda was in the driveway._ I thought she was working a twelve today _…He shrugged. His dad would be home soon from the firehouse, coming off his shift, so they'd all be together for dinner. Most kids would dread the thought of being at the same table as their parents, but since Troy's parents worked such odd shifts, the time the family did have together was important to him. He hefted his karate duffel on his shoulder and pushed the door to the house open. "Mom?" he called, his voice echoing in the mostly-empty house._

" _Hi Troy!" Dana called from the back of the house. "In the kitchen!"_

_Troy set his duffel bag on the floor and tossed his tennis shoes into the corner. "What time's Dad home?" Troy asked as he came through the living room into the kitchen. His mother stood at the counter, taking the wrapping off a frozen pizza._

" _About a half hour," Dana replied. "You wanna grab the sliced olives out of the fridge?"_

_Troy obliged, opening the steel door and searching for the container. "Can I put extra olives on a couple slices?" he asked._

" _Sure," she replied. "As long as you keep them off of mine." Troy grinned. His mother was a firm believer that fruits and vegetables did not belong on pizza. He sprinkled the black olives liberally in a corner of the pizza. "I'm gonna go take a shower and stuff before Dad gets home." He wiped his hands on the towel._

" _I just ran the dishwasher," Dana warned him. "Hot water will be short supply."_

_Troy groaned. "Thanks, Mom." He hustled into his room, tossing his red tee onto the bed and grabbing a purple shirt, then making a beeline for the bathroom. He turned the shower on as he was hopping out of his jeans. The hot water lasted exactly five minutes, and Troy was out of the shower in less than that. He was just zipping his jeans when he heard the front door open. Troy came out of the bathroom and jumped right in front of his father. His dad jumped backwards, nearly slamming into the front door._

" _Hi Dad," Troy greeted his father._

_Carter Grayson wrapped his son in a one-armed hug. "Hey, kiddo," he greeted him. "Good day today?"_

" _Yeah, good day," Troy replied. He smiled. "Mom's makin' pizza."_

" _Did you put olives on some?" Carter slipped out of his tennis shoes. Troy noted his father smelled vaguely like smoke. Carter worked in the Arson section for Mariner Bay Fire Department, and he must have been at a scene today._

" _Did you have a call out today?" Troy asked._

_He saw his father stiffen. "Yeah," he replied after a moment._

_Troy knew that tone. It generally meant that whatever he'd discovered wasn't good news-not that a fire started on purpose ever was. "Sorry for asking," Troy apologized._

_Carter sighed and ruffled his son's hair. "It's okay, Troy," he replied. "It doesn't get easier, but it's okay."_

" _Hey guys," Dana said, coming into the entryway. "Dinner's-" She paused, looking at her husband and son. "Rough day at the office?" she asked Carter._

_He nodded._

_She gave him a hug. "Come on," she said. "Pizza'll make it better." She took their hands and led them into the kitchen, where the pizza was sitting on the island. "Dig in," she told them, gesturing to the pizza. As Troy reached for two slices, she took her husband's hand. "Do you want to wait until tomorrow?" she asked him under her breath._

_Carter shook his head. "No. Tonight's as good a time as any," he said. He sighed. "Today's a bad day, might as well make it worse."_

_The Graysons sat around the kitchen table. Troy was on his fourth slice. It had mostly been small talk- Carter avoiding questions about the fire in the afternoon and Troy avoiding the topic of his history test in third period. Dana had been trying to keep it light, because what she was about to bring up was a hot button, and it would go south very quickly._

" _So," she began, with a look at Carter, "I got a phone call from the Harwood County Hospital today."_

_Troy paused mid-bite. He'd known his mother had applied for the pediatrician job there, but it had been weeks ago. He'd shrugged it off._

" _They offered me the chief pediatrician spot," Dana continued quietly._

_Carter smiled, a genuinely happy smile. "What did you tell them?" he asked her._

" _I told them yes," she replied with a smile and a cautious look at their son._

" _You told them what?" Troy demanded, pushing his chair back from the table._

" _Troy, this is a big deal for your mom-" Carter began, but Troy was on his feet._

" _And what about me?" Troy demanded. "What about school, and karate classes and…." He trailed off. He sighed. "Congrats, Mom," he said without any joy. He looked at his dad. "When do we leave?"_

" _They wanted me to start as soon as possible but I asked them if you could finish school here first," Dana replied. She looked at Troy. "We'll put the house on the market and you can finish tenth grade here before we go."_

" _Goody," Troy sighed. He stood up. "I'm gonna go do my homework." His parents heard him stalk down the hall in his bare feet before hearing the bedroom door slam._

_Dana looked at Carter. "Well," she said shortly, "that went well."_

_"I didn't think he'd take it that hard," Carter admitted. "With what's been going on in school the past couple of years, I thought he would be chomping at the bit to leave." He picked an olive off his pizza and flicked it onto the plate._

_"The last report I got from the principal, things were better," Dana said. "Chad's seen a noticeable change in his attitude since he started classes, and his grades are getting better...and lately he's been a lot more helpful here at the house..." She rested her chin her hand. "Maybe it's a mistake to take him out of here after all that improvement."_

_"Or maybe this'll be the perfect opportunity for a fresh start," Carter offered._

* * *

_Harwood County_

Troy lost his focus on the kata and sighed.

Truth be told, he was perfectly fine with leaving Mariner Bay High. There were people there he'd rather not see every day. But he was really upset about leaving his relatives and the friends he'd made in Uncle Chad's classes. No more climbing with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Kelsey, no more days in the air with Uncle Joel...he would even miss Uncle Tom's stupid jokes. There was a certain level of stability in his life right now, and the move was going to shake that up. In the end, he'd sucked it up. It wasn't like his parents were going to let him stay with Uncle Ryan and Kelsey anyway. Besides, they were his parents. He couldn't just stay behind.

Walking through the doors of HCH that morning, he'd been on pins and needles. Every time he heard a locker slam, or a loud yell from someone down the hall, it was like a relapse.

 _But maybe_ , he thought _,_ taking a few deep breaths like Uncle Chad suggested and reflecting on Gia, Emma, Noah and Jake, _maybe it would be okay._ He walked over to his backpack and shrugged on his jacket. He grabbed a bottle of water, and was just about to take a sip when the world disappeared in a flash of red light.

The bottle fell to the rooftop and rolled.


	4. A Legacy Lives On

The next thing Troy knew, he had landed unceremoniously in a heap on top of four other people. He made out a familiar black sweatshirt with HCH on the back, a blue polo, a black leather jacket….he scrambled off Jake, Noah and Gia and stood up quickly. They all backed away from each other awkwardly.

"How the…" Jake trailed off, looking around. Troy followed his gaze. The floor was smooth gray rock. The walls were gray and black, speckled with quartz or some other shiny mineral that glittered in what little light was around them. "What happened?" Jake asked, asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

"I don't know, but it was scientifically impossible," Noah said, checking his glasses to make sure they were still intact. Then, he grinned. "And _awesome."_

Troy looked around, studying the cave. "How did we end up here?"

"Just where is 'here'?" Gia asked him, crossing her arms over her chest. Troy shrugged.

"It worked!"

All four teens jumped sky-high as a tinny, mechanical voice started chattering away somewhere below their feet.

"What is that?" Troy yelped, pressing his back to the cave wall and looking down.

"Wow!" Noah spotted it first. It rolled into a patch of sunlight that filtered in from a natural gap in the ceiling. A square-shaped _thing_ with two grips, two wheels, and four small units that looked like…eyes. "An old school robot like in the movies!" Noah said excitedly, bending down to inspect it. As he did, it giggled and rolled out of the way. Troy saw flickering out of the corners of his eyes, and lights came on around them.

"What's happening?" Noah stood up. The four of them looked around the room.

"Why is there _electricity_ in here?" Gia demanded. "Where _are_ we?"

"Whoa…." Jake whispered. Soccer ball in hand, he stepped toward something on the wall. Two square patches of green light and a thin strip of orange. As the lights grew stronger, the shape of a Hawaiian tiki statue came into view in front of him. Jake shuddered and stepped back. "Freaky tiki," he muttered.

Troy hardly noticed the tiki, because his eyes were on the small statues lining the room. Small, people-shaped figurines of red, white, blue, yellow, black, green, pink and other colors. He stepped up for a closer look. _I've seen these before…_ Something caught his eye, and he ran a hand over one set of the figures. Red, green, blue, yellow, pink and silver.

The Lightspeed Rangers. His mother and father's team. _What the hell is going on here?_ A flash of the dream snaked into his mind-his dad, leading the Lightspeed Rescue team into battle against... _against what?_

"This is amazing," Noah said, coming up to him and snapping him out of his thoughts. He jerked. "Yeah, amazing," Troy said, turning to focus on Noah instead of the figures on the ledge.

"Welcome humans!" A booming voice made the four of them jump again. Troy whipped around to see the tiki on the wall. "I am Gosei."

_The tiki talks._

"Your lives are about to change forever," the tiki head announced.

"The tiki is talking," Troy heard Jake whisper to Gia.

"Let me explain," the tiki head- _Gosei -_ said _. "_ My mentor Zordon placed me here to be guardian of this planet. I am of the earth and embody all of its mystical powers."

"Guardian?" Troy asked. Jake frowned at him.

"He's talking to the tiki," Jake whispered to Gia. Gia hit him in the arm, a clear indication to _shut up_.

"The earth is faced with an extraordinary threat-" Gosei began, but Jake held up a hand.

"Um, listen dude…You look like something off one of my dad's Hawaiian shirts."

Gia nudged Jake and this time she did say, "Shut _up_."

"I took this form to communicate with humans." Gosei told Jake. "This is a perilous time for mankind. The earth needs you."

" _What_ are you talking about?" Noah asked, for what seemed like the eighth time in ten minutes.

The giant talking tiki Gosei didn't say anything for a moment. Then, he said, "Aliens have already landed, and the earth needs to be protected."

Troy looked at the others. And then everyone started talking at once.

"First a talking tiki, now aliens, you gotta be kidding me!" Jake was the loudest of them all. He turned to find the nearest exit, and jumped back as another figure landed in a flash of pink light on the cave floor. Emma Goodall brushed herself off and stood up, checking to see that the lens of her camera was still in one piece. Satisfied, she looked at the others.

"He's not kidding," she said flatly.

"Emma, you're mixed up in this too?" Gia ran over to her friend. Emma smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine, Gia. I swear." She turned on her camera and flipped the mode so she was scrolling through her pictures. "Before I landed here….I saw this."

Troy leaned over the girls' shoulders and studied the photo. Whatever…. _this_ was….it looked like an insect. It stood on two legs, with ugly gold and red wings. It was creepy and otherworldly…and Troy started to get a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"What _gives_?" Gia demanded, turning to face Gosei. "This _can't_ be real!"

"This is very real," Gosei replied grimly. "You have been selected to form a team in the long tradition of the Power Rangers."

The sinking feeling in Troy's stomach intensified. _No. Way._

"Tensou," Gosei's attention turned to his little robotic helper.

"On screen," Tensou said. Troy watched as five rectangular panels lit up in red, black, yellow, blue and pink. "Activated," Tensou told Gosei.

The pink screen lit up. "Emma," Gosei began, and Emma stepped over to the panel cautiously. "You're not only a great BMX cyclist….you truly care about the environment. You will soar up from the flames like a phoenix, to become the Pink Ranger."

Emma frowned. "Pink is my favorite color…." She looked up at Gosei. "But what's with this 'Ranger' stuff?"

Gosei continued, as the blue panel lit up. "Noah." Noah exchanged a glance with Jake and pushed his glasses further up on his nose. "Your thirst for knowledge is unequaled. Out future depends on great scientific minds like yours. As the Blue Ranger…your attacks will bit with the force of a shark."

"Fascinating…" Noah whispered. He turned to Jake as the black panel glowed. Jake held his soccer ball a little tighter.

"There is nobody with the boundless enthusiasm and athleticism as you Jake. I am making you the Black Ranger, who will fight with the stealth of a snake."

Jake gave Gia a small smile as the yellow panel lit up in front of her.

"Gia, you are calm under pressure and pursue excellence with the ferocity of a tiger. You will be the Yellow Ranger." Gia looked over at Emma and bit her lip. Emma offered her an encouraging grin.

Then, the four of them looked at Troy, as the red panel lit up and he stepped carefully forward. His mind was racing. He hardly heard Gosei's next words.

"As for you, Troy, your purity of spirit and strength are the result of great discipline. You have met adversity in your life with skill. You shall be the red ranger and as the dragon, you will serve as the leader of this team."

Troy felt his face get hot and his hands get clammy, and he looked around at the others. "There must be some mistake. I'm new in town. I can't lead people I just met."

"There is no mistake. You have been chosen because of your skills and character." Gosei said it so matter-of-factly that Troy couldn't come up with an argument. At least, not an argument he was willing to have in front of his new friends...teammates.

"Lining the room," Gosei continued, and they all turned. "You can see the rangers that came before you. You shall form a new team, given access to extraordinary powers to defend the earth." The panels slid back, revealing a piece of tech that looked similar to Gosei. Troy picked his up and studied it. Beside it, a card materialized, and Troy looked at it. "These are your morphers," Gosei told them. "With them, you will morph into Power Rangers and wield Power Cards to unlock powers and abilities. You will command mighty machines called MegaZords."

 _Power Rangers. Morphers._ Troy tried to hide his lack of surprise. Never, in a thousand years, would he have picked himself to lead a team of Rangers. His father Carter had been a Red Ranger, but Troy…he wasn't prepared for this. He took a deep breath and returned to the conversation, where Noah was asking Gosei how they accessed their Ranger gear.

"If the earth is under attack and you think we're the ones to protect it….I'm in." Troy told Gosei, interrupting the conversation. "But I won't be their leader unless they agree to it." He looked at the others. "I know I just met you guys. You guys don't know me from that talking head on the wall. But I know we can do this, as a team."

"I'm with you," Gia said instantly, and Emma, next to her, nodded.

"Me too," Noah said, and he looked at Jake.

Jake tossed his ball in the air and caught it. After a moment, he said, "Let's do this."

Troy looked at Gosei. "We're in."

"Megaforce, your mission starts now," Gosei said, and Troy felt a tingling feeling in his legs.

And then just as suddenly as they'd arrived in the cave….they were gone again.


	5. First Fight

The now five teens landed in a tangled mess on top of each other. Again. "If this is how we get everywhere, I vote we chip in and buy a car," Jake grimaced. "This is gettin' old."

"Everyone okay?" Troy asked, helping Noah stand.

"I guess so," Noah affirmed, brushing himself and his computer bag off.

"Did what just happened really just happen?" Emma asked nervously, but the weight of the morpher in her hand made it the truth. She looked at Troy.

"Yeah, it happened," Troy said, wondering how his father had felt at the moment in time when he'd become a Ranger. _Was he excited? Was he scared? Did he think he could be a good leader?_ He didn't have a clue how he was feeling right now.

The sounds of screaming people filled his ears, snapping him back to reality. He looked up to see a crowd of people running at them, away from the insect-looking thing that Emma had snapped a picture of.

"Uh, aliens?" Jake's jaw dropped. "I don't believe this…"

"And does _anything_ about today make sense?" Gia countered with a raised eyebrow.

"Were you not _listening_ to Gosei?" Noah asked his friend.

"Forget that," Troy said, cutting into the argument. "These guys are bad news." He took a breath and let it out, then stepped forward.

" Whaddya think you're doing?" Jake yelled at the insectoid, and it stopped and glared at him.

"Loogies!" it yelled, and several green humanoid figures with swirling silver eyes in the middle of their heads appeared around him. They spotted the teens, and took a menacing step forward.

"Thanks, Jake," Gia muttered.

"I'm guessing they don't come in peace!" Noah stammered.

" _That's_ obvious," Emma replied, and then they were on top of them. The teens scattered.

* * *

 _If Sensei Lee could see me now,_ Troy thought, as a group of the aliens cornered him by a car left abandoned. The engine was still running and the driver's side door flung open. Troy kicked one of the Loogies away, then backflipped onto the car's hood, barely noticing the heat from the engine, and launched himself back, knocking two of them to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Emma shove her camera in one's face and hit the shutter. The camera flash sent it staggering, and she pushed it away. Troy ducked around into the driver's seat and slammed the open car door into two of the Loogies, knocking them away. He watched Jake use his soccer ball and an epic bicycle kick to send his soccer ball into the back of one of the aliens, knocking it away from Gia.

The Loogies used the distraction, grabbing Troy's arms and throwing him over the top of the car. He rolled off the hood and landed on the ground, grimacing. _That felt like a cracked rib…_

Two seconds later, Noah landed on top of him. Troy gasped for air as Noah rolled off of him, grabbing his shoulder. "They're closing in on us!" Noah announced unnecessarily.

Troy painfully got to his feet, and reached for his morpher. "What are you doing?" Jake hissed from behind one of the cars. Troy yanked out the card Gosei had given him along with the morpher, and slammed down the morpher's mouth. "Gosei told us the morphers would give us power," he told them. He felt a crackling in the air around him.

_Now's the time..._

"Follow my lead." Troy stepped forward. "It's morphin' time!" he announced, inserting the card and slamming the mouth shut. "Go go Megaforce!"

* * *

 _It's like getting struck by lightning,_ Uncle Ryan Mitchell's voice was saying. _Your whole body feels like it's on fire, but in a good way. Like a shot of adrenaline and an entire shelf of energy drinks._ Troy closed his eyes, feeling the Power replace his leather jacket and jeans with the tight material of a Power Ranger suit. Red chest and helmet, gloves, gold belt, boots. As the energy burned off, Troy felt incredible. "Megaforce Red!" he yelled. He turned to his team.

Jake was the first to follow, slamming the card home and transforming into the Black Megaforce Ranger, followed by Noah, Emma and Gia.

"Megaforce Yellow!" Gia announced.

"Megaforce Blue!"

"Megaforce Pink!" Emma added.

"Yeah!" Gia gasped. "You guys _feel_ that?"

 _So this is what it feels like_. The Power surged through Troy. He'd heard his parents and their friends talk about 'the good ol' days' but this was so _intense_!

"What do you mean, 'what it feels like'?" Noah asked Troy, and Troy grimaced behind his helmet. He hadn't realized he'd spoken out loud. The four others were staring at him, or at least, he thought they were, through the black visors.

"What are you talking about, Troy?" Emma asked him curiously.

"Something you wanna share with the class?" Jake said.

"Now's not the time," Troy finally said. "I'll explain later. Let's finish this and I'll tell you everything." He stepped forward. "Jake and Gia, you've got special weapons."

"What?" Jake frowned. He felt a tingling sensation, and he popped open the buckle on his belt, revealing a second card. "Oh. Good call." He looked at Gia.

"Summon battle gear!" Gia called, like she'd known what to do her whole life. "Tiger Claw!" she yelled, brandishing a yellow and silver piece of tech that reminded her a little of Wolverine's claws from "X-Men."

"Snake Axe!" Jake added, swinging a black and silver axe.

"My turn!" Noah said. "Shark Bowgun!" In his hands, a blue and silver crossbow appeared.

"Phoenix Shot!" Emma said, and a pink and silver blaster appeared out of nowhere.

"And last but not least," Troy said, mostly to himself. "Dragon Sword!" The weight of the red and silver sword felt natural in his left hand as he raised it in a defensive position. "Now let's go get 'em!" he yelled, and the five Rangers surged forward. "Keep takin' the fight to them, guys!" he told his team as they battled through the Loogies.

"What choice do we have?" Jake queried sarcastically, slicing the midsection of a Loogie and nearly decapitating another. He turned to see Noah firing bright blue arrows at the Loogies.

"Nice shot, Noah!" Gia complimented him.

"Oh, I am _lovin_ ' this bowgun!" Noah pronounced, firing again.

Emma joined the group a split second later, having launched herself from a nearby planter and literally _flying_ toward them. She fired the Phoenix Shot, but a group of Loogies surrounded them. "We could use Troy," Noah said, aiming at them and going back-to-back with the others in a defensive stance.

Just then, a whirlwind of red knocked every Loogie around them to the ground. "Here he comes," Jake deadpanned as Troy spun to a stop. He was grinning behind the visor.

"These powers are amazing!" he exclaimed.

"Tell me about it," Gia said. Troy could hear the smile in her voice behind the visor. Noah clapped Troy on the back.

Just then, more of the green foot soldiers appeared, and Troy whipped around into a battle stance. "Look sharp!" Troy told his team, and they went into battle again. He was getting tired. Sensei Lee had explained the Power as enhancing what you already had. _So if I'm running on empty…the Power will only take me so far._ He hoped there was enough fuel in the tank to get him through the rest of the fight.

"Guys! Look over there!" Noah yelled, kicking a loogie out of the way and pointing across town. Troy saw smoke.

"I don't know what it is, but we need to check it out," Troy said. He waved the group forward. "Let's go!"

The five rangers arrived at a scrapyard on the south end of Harwood. Jake saw guys in hard hats running for their lives from a giant…well, it looked like a blue and silver scarab beetle. _And the only reason I know what one of those is is because I watched 'The Mummy',_ he thought to himself. "Hey!" he heard himself yelling. "Leave those folks alone!"

The blue and silver beetle whirled to face them. "Oh great, Jake," Gia groused. "How about you just stick a neon sign above our heads?!"

Troy stepped forward. "You can scare them, but _we're_ not afraid. We'll protect the earth no matter what it takes!"

He heard his team chorus in agreement behind him.

"You really wanna fight?" The blue and silver beetle seemed totally disinterested in them. "Fine! Loogies, attack!"

 _Not more of them._ Troy knew they'd never make it. "Hey, Gosei? We could sure use some backup right about now!"

As if the tiki head had heard him, he heard Gosei's deep voice announce, "Rangers, it is time to call upon your MegaBlasters."

Troy felt a renewed tingle from the Power, and as he held out his palm, a red and gold gun appeared in his gloved palm. He grabbed it with his left hand and held it out. It felt like a natural extension of him, similar to photos he'd seen of his dad's Rescue Blaster. Around the yard, he saw Emma, Gia, Noah and Jake doing the same with blasters of their respective colors. They looked at Troy.

"Megablaster, activate!" they all cried out, and everyone took aim at the green loogies.

"Let's fry these loogies!" Gia yelled, and fired at a group of them, mowing down the whole lot with four shots.

"It's on!" Troy yelled, doing the same, aiming for a few who had taken up positions on top of the metal quonset behind him. He watched them tumble to the ground. He took out a few behind Emma, and she repaid the favor taking the one out behind him. He tossed her a thumbs up and she returned it with a cowboy twirl of her blaster. He grinned, despite it all.

The green soldiers evaporated around them, until all that was left was the big bad beetle.

"Way to go guys," Troy encouraged the group.

"I'll crush you!" the beetle yelled. Beneath his feet, a giant gray ball of concrete appeared. He must have used his powers to gather the chunks around the yard. Then, it rolled toward them. Troy dove out of the way, pulling Emma with him. Jake, Gia and Noah somersaulted the opposite direction. Troy yelled, "Take out that ball!" as the beetle turned it around, ready for another pass.

All five rangers aimed their blasters at the rock ball. As one, they fired. The blaster shots blew the concrete to smithereens. Pieces flew everywhere. The beetle dropped to the dirt.

"You punks are Megaforcing me to lose my lunch!" The beetle yelled at them. Troy rolled his eyes at the stupid pun, but was instantly on guard again as the beetle sent the chunks of the ball flying toward the rangers. Noah and Emma aimed at them, and like Western sharpshooters, they blew them all to fine dust.

"Let's call on our Mega Weapon!" Troy said, feeling the tingle from the Power telling him what to do.

"I've got fancy attacks too!" The beetle summoned blue balls of flame and rock. Troy watched them float in the air above him.

"Emma, I have an idea," Troy said suddenly. He looked at the pink ranger. "Can I borrow your wings?"

"Sure?"

"Follow my lead. Air strike." He grinned.

"Oh!" Emma realized. "All right!" She grabbed Troy under the arms and took to the air. "Sky strike!" they yelled together, and as the beetle sent the glowing rock toward them, Emma and Troy flew right through them, and blew them apart. Troy fired his blaster, sending the beetle staggering.

"Now, time to show true Megapower!" Troy said. His sword materialized in his hand again. "Combine!" It must have been the Power directing them, because the five rangers put their weapons together. "Megaforce Blaster!" Troy yelled.

Slots opened in the weapon. Troy pulled out his Dragon card and slammed into a slot. Emma followed with the Phoenix card. "Sky power, energize!"

Gia and Jake followed suit with the Tiger and Snake cards. "Land power, energize!" they yelled together.

Finally, last but not least, Noah punched the Shark card home. "Sea Power, energize!"

"Megaforce Blaster, ready!" Troy said. He glared at the blue beetle. "Dynamic Victory Charge!"

The blaster fired. The beetle exploded into bits of beetle. "Yeah!" Jake yelled.

"Megaranger, that's a mega win!" Troy said. He felt his sword materialize and disappear in his hand.

He looked around at his team. "Power down." The suit disappeared in a flash of red light, and Troy felt his body sag. He bent his knees to absorb the loss of energy. He'd heard his Uncle Joel compare it to landing on the runway after an air show. Flat ground, no energy.

Around him, his team did the same, their uniforms disappearing. There was a moment where they all looked at each other, no one believing what had just happened.

And then Emma turned to Troy. "So...you said you were going to explain later? It's later."


	6. Secrets & Confessions

Harwood County Medical Center was a five-story, Level One trauma center in the heart of Harwood, about three blocks from the mall and just off the subway line. In fitting with the rest of downtown, the building was glass and steel, with foot-high blue letters proclaiming HC MEDICAL CENTER above the emergency room entrance. The main entrance opened up onto a side street with the same blue lettering above it. Third floor was Pediatrics, and it was here where Doctor Dana Mitchell-Grayson had her offices. She stepped out into the waiting room, holding the hand of a little girl in a rainbow dress. "It's good to see you, Jessica," she told the little girl with a smile. "See you next time!"

Jessica waved with one small hand. "Bye Doctor Dana!" she called as she skipped over to her father who was sitting in a red plastic chair. Dana shot him a smile and held up two fingers. He nodded and before they left, he was at her receptionist to make an appointment for two months from then.

Dana surveyed the room. The carpet was bright blue. In one corner, there was a basket full of toys and books. A street pattern was laid out on the carpet and two little boys were crashing cars around the carpeted road. A little girl was sitting on her mother's lap with a picture book. On the television on the wall, Nickelodeon was blaring cartoons.

She smiled. This was how she'd always pictured her office. It was perfect. She checked her watch. Five-fifteen. She'd gotten a text from Troy right after school, but hadn't heard anything since then. Then again, he'd said he was going to explore town, and Harwood was sizable.

Troy was a smart kid. Very street-savvy. In Mariner Bay he took public transportation to visit his grandparents all over the place, so Dana wasn't worried about him getting lost. She knew he had money with him for a cab too, if he needed, and he also had his cell phone. Carter should be off work in about fifteen minutes and would have his phone on him if Troy needed a ride.

_So then why am I worrying?_

"You okay?" Dana's receptionist Sarah touched Dana on the arm, and Dana looked down.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, deep in thought. Who's next?" she asked Sarah. Sarah handed her a chart. Dana was about to call the name when a high-pitched squeal echoed in the room. All eyes turned to the TV, where a red stripe split the screen with SPECIAL BULLETIN.

" _I'm Tara Sanderson with a KHCH Special Report."_ The screen cut to a cell-phone video of….something. Dana's hand was reaching for her cell phone even as the anchor said, " _This video was shot just outside the Bank of Harwood moments ago…."_

Dana's hand gripped the counter. _Oh God_.

* * *

"See you tomorrow, Ray," Carter tossed a wave over his shoulder to his boss at Harwood County Fire Department. He untucked his shirt as he made his way over to his Silverado. Today had been a day of nothing but paperwork. He was fine with that. He preferred a nice boring day over going to a scene. Carter had transferred from Mariner Bay's Arson division to Harwood County's. He'd had an excellent letter of recommendation from his father in law, Bill Mitchell, and his boss Keith back home. They'd been sorry to see him go, but they'd really gone to bat for him to get the job here.

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket just as he got to the door. He pulled it out and saw his wife's number. "Dana?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

" _Where are you right now_?" she demanded.

"Just got off work, I'm in the parking lot." His wife sounded panicked. "Dana, _what's wrong_?"

" _Turn on the radio!"_

Carter jumped into the truck and flipped the key. " _…sources are unsure what this creature is, but the damage is extensive. Several people have been hospitalized, and emergency services are advising people to stay away from the area marked by Thompson Street and 7th Avenue-"_

Carter flipped the key back, sending the truck into silence. He put a hand to his forehead, resting his elbow on the wheel. "Do we know where Troy is right now?" he asked his wife.

" _No. I haven't heard from him since we got the text after school."_

"Try calling him," Carter said. "I'm going to head home. If you hear from him, tell him to stay where he is and I'll come get him."

" _Carter…_." His wife's voice cracked. " _It's-it's happening again, isn't it?"_

Carter closed his eyes. "Sounds like," he said quietly. "It'll be okay, Dana. It'll be okay."

He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself or his wife.

* * *

Figuring out teleporting took a little bit, but it was Noah who discovered the button on the side of the morpher that dissolved them in beams of light in their respective Ranger suit colors, and had them reappear inside the cave.

This time, they didn't land on top of each other. "That's a nice change," Jake noted as he tucked his morpher inside his sweatshirt pocket. "Nice job, Noah."

"Thanks," Noah said proudly. Then, he turned to Troy, who had wandered to look at the Ranger figures lining the walls. "Um. Troy?"

Troy's hands drifted over the figures of his parents and their team. He looked up at the wall, but Gosei's tiki head was dark and silent. He heard Tensou roll into the room. _Thanks for the help, Gosei_ , he thought to himself. He hissed in pain. Now that he was out of morph, his cracked rib was killing him. It hurt to breathe.

He turned to look at the group. "I guess I've only told you guys half the story," he began. "My name is Troy Burrows _Grayson_. I'm from Mariner Bay, and while the Lightspeed Rangers were before my time…" He looked at Emma. "I know all about them. I _know_ them. All six of them."

"You _know_ the Lightspeed Rangers?" Noah asked.

Troy nodded. "The Red Ranger is my dad, Carter Grayson. And my mom was Pink, Dana Mitchell."

He heard Jake swear. "Jeez. Your _parents_ were Power Rangers?"

Troy ran his hands through his hair. "Um, yeah. And uh….my Uncle Ryan Mitchell is the Titanium Ranger and he's married to Kelsey Winslow-the Yellow Ranger. Oh, and my karate sensei was Chad Lee, the Blue Ranger, and I've gone flying a couple times with Joel Rawlings, the Green Ranger."

"That's how you knew," Emma said, looking at him. "The whole morphing thing. You-you did it like you'd done it before."

Troy nodded. "Yeah. My um, relatives talk. A lot. And they're pretty well-known in Mariner Bay."

"So…you lied to us," Gia said, and Troy could see the fire in her eyes.

He _so_ did not want to have this conversation. He kept hoping Gosei would break in to congratulate them on their win, but the tiki stayed silent. "I-I did, yeah," he said.

Gia opened her mouth to say something, but Emma touched her shoulder. "Did you move here because….because you _knew_ this was going to happen?" Gia asked him carefully, and Troy could see she was barely keeping her temper in check.

He shook his head vehemently. "No. No way. We did move because my mom got a new job. At least, that's part of it. The other part doesn't have anything to do with…with what happened today." He leaned up against the stone wall. "I didn't keep the name Grayson because my mom and dad thought it would be less pressure if everybody didn't equate my name with the Lightspeed Rangers." He looked at Emma. "You saw what it's like in the cafeteria. Whenever someone asks where I'm from and I tell them Mariner Bay, they _always_ ask about the Lightspeed Rangers. It's like being Tom Cruise's kid or something. So I'm using my middle name. I'm just trying to have a normal life."

"Good luck with that," Jake snorted.

Troy glared at him. "Look, I know you're probably mad at me-"

He heard Gia huff.

"-but I _swear_ to you I had no idea that monsters were gonna attack or that _I_ -that _we-_ were gonna get picked to be Power Rangers." He looked at his new friends and prayed that they wouldn't walk out the door.

Finally, Noah spoke. "We were lucky today," he said, looking around at everybody. "Really lucky. And if Troy hadn't have been there to show us what to do…." He shrugged. "I don't know that we would've been so fortunate." He looked at Troy. "I'm not happy you lied to us. But I'm sure glad you're on our team."

He elbowed Jake and Jake said, reluctantly, "I guess me too, Mr. 'I'm not a teams guy.'"

Troy managed a weak smile. He looked at the girls. Emma was smiling reassuringly at him. He turned his attention to Gia. "Gia?" he prompted. Emma looked at her best friend and nudged her with her hip.

"That wasn't the end of it, was it." It wasn't a question, and Troy didn't treat it as such. He said nothing as Gia processed it. "Gosei said 'invasion' and that wasn't much of one. He wouldn't need Power Rangers for two bugs and those green loogie things." She looked up at the tiki on the wall. "There's more coming, isn't there?"

Gosei's eyes lit up. "I'm afraid that is not the end," he said, and Troy refrained from rolling his eyes. _Sure, now he decides to pop in_. "More are coming. They're in orbit now."

The teens let that sink in. "Okay. Then we gotta be ready," Gia decided, looking at Troy. Troy nodded. "Except we need to be _honest_ with each other. No secrets. We're a team. We're…we're earth's defenders. We're in this together. We can't tell anybody that we're rangers, or it'll put people in danger." She looked at Troy for confirmation, and he nodded.

"Which means no more secrets," Gia said, looking around at the group, but lingering on Troy. "We're all we've got."

"Done," Troy agreed. "No more secrets from here on out," he said. _Except for the one big one that I'd rather not tell them…_

There was a pause, and then Emma broke out into a grin. "You have to admit...today was _awesome_ ," she proclaimed, and they all laughed.

* * *

Troy stood just outside the entrance to the command center, a chunk of rock at the end of Four Mile Beach the locals called "The Point." He dug his cell phone out of his pocket, realizing that he'd put it on vibrate. One hand drifted to his ribcage.

SIX MISSED CALLS. All from his parents. "Crap," Troy grimaced as he listened to the six frantic voicemails from his mom and dad demanding that he call them.

He dialed his dad first. " _Troy_?" his father demanded after one ring. " _Where the_ hell _are you_?"

"Sorry, dad. I was at the mall, had the phone on vibrate, I couldn't hear it." Troy winced at how easily the lie came. _Old habits…._

" _Are you okay?"_

Troy played dumb. "Fine. What's up? Is everything okay?"

There was a pause on the other end. " _Yeah. Listen, stay there. I'm on my way to come get you."_

"O-okay," Troy said. "I'll be at the main entrance, I guess. See you when you get here." There was a click as Carter hung up. Troy looked around, then pulled his morpher from his jacket pocket. "Which button was that…." He found the little button on the side and thought _Mall_. He disappeared in a flash of red light, backpack and all.

He materialized in a maintenance corridor. He left the corridor into the main hall of the mall like he belonged there and made his way toward the entrance. As he walked, he could hear people talking about the monster attack.

"I heard it was six stories tall!"

"I heard it was black and green and oozed!"

 _If only they knew_. He exited the mall into the cool evening air and leaned against the window next to the door, waiting for a familiar truck. After a few minutes, his father's truck parked across the street and Troy dodged traffic to get over to him. He climbed in the passenger seat, trying not to make his injury obvious.

"Hi, Dad," he said as he buckled in. "How was your day?"

Carter eyed his son. "Ah, fine," he said after a minute. "You okay? You're breathing a little hard."

"Yeah, I was a little farther from the entrance than I thought. Must've gotten turned around in there," Troy shrugged. "So, people in the mall, they were talking about something." He looked at his dad. "There's monsters in Harwood County?"

Carter frowned. "Yeah, it sounds like it. But there's also a team of Power Rangers too," he said. "So we're okay, I hope." He put the truck in drive and edged into traffic. "Had I known there was going to be an attack here, I never would have-"

"Dad, it's not like they schedule them every year or anything," Troy said. His morpher felt heavy in his backpack. "Besides, there's been one in like, every city in California. Odds are pretty good no matter where you'd go."

His dad laughed. "Yeah, I guess you have a point." He returned his eyes to the road and Troy breathed a sigh of relief. "Is Mom home?" he asked his dad.

Carter shook his head. "No. She's working a double. She should be home tomorrow when you wake up for school though."

"Oh. Bummer." Inwardly, Troy was glad. His mom would be able to tell in a heartbeat that he was injured.

"Listen, Troy," Carter began, signaling and turning onto their street. Troy looked over at him, trying not to turn his whole body. "With the monsters and everything….do me a favor and keep your cell on ring rather than vibrate when you're not in school?"

"Oh, sure, Dad," Troy nodded. "No problem. I'm sorry I made you guys worry."

"I won't tell you to stop keeping your normal routine either," Carter added. "But if you go somewhere with friends or stay late after school or something, please let your mom or I know. I trust you to be responsible and not go looking for trouble."

Troy felt his ears getting red and hoped his hair hid it. "I'll let you know," he promised his father. His dad pulled into the driveway and turned the truck off. "Can we do pizza for supper?" Troy asked, changing the subject.

Carter nodded. "I'm pretty sure there's some olives in the fridge," he added. "And since Mom won't be home to eat with us…" He winked at Troy. "Let's use them all." He started for the house. "Hey, I forgot to ask," Carter said, looking over his shoulder. "How was your first day of school?

Troy grinned. "Interesting," he replied. "Very interesting."


	7. Keeping Up Appearances

Troy rolled carefully out bed the next morning before his alarm went off. His chest was killing him. He'd had Emma tape it for him since that was all you could do for a broken rib, and he'd downed two aspirin before he'd gone to sleep, but he'd woken up sore.

He shut his alarm off and gingerly reached for a pair of gray sweats and a cutoff sweatshirt. The pants were no problem. Lifting his arms hurt. _I might have to have Emma retape my ribs for me._ He was going to look super informal on his second day of class, but this was a heck of a lot easier to move in than his jeans and jacket.

He grabbed his backpack with one hand-it was fairly light since they'd had no homework. Most of their classes had been getting to know you stuff. There were a few reading assignments but he could get them done in his study hall second period.

He walked down the stairs for the front door. His dad was still asleep. He didn't know if his mom was off her shift at the hospital or not. _Hopefully not_. He turned the handle.

"Good morning, sunshine," his mother's voice echoed behind him. "You're headed out early."

Troy turned to see his mother sitting on the couch in the living room, a cup of tea in her hand. She usually wound down from shifts with some chamomile. He took a hard breath and smiled. "Hey, Mom."

"How was your first day yesterday?" she asked him, setting the cup down. "Sorry I didn't get to talk to you much last night."

"It was good," he replied honestly. "People are pretty cool. Met a few friends."

"Gave your father and I a heart attack apiece," Dana countered.

"Yeah," Troy grimaced. "Sorry. Dad said I need to keep my phone on ring when I'm not in school. I'm sorry. But I'm okay."

"I see this," Dana said. She bit her lip. "Troy…if I had known-"

"Mom, I'll tell you the same thing I told Dad: it's not like they're predictable. You guys managed to survive it, and I'll do the same." _I just have a bit of a one-up on you right now_.

"Just…." Dana stood up and walked over to him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Please, please, _please_ be careful."

He smiled. "I will be, Mom, I swear. I won't go play with the scary monsters."

She nodded. "Okay. Where you headed so early?"

"Thought I'd go for a run."

She looked at his outfit. " _Please_ tell me you're not wearing that to school."

He frowned. "I'm…. _not_ …wearing this to school?" he repeated slowly.

She smiled and ruffled his hair. "Good answer. Go up and grab something to switch into when you get there please."

"Mo-om. Really?"

She raised an eyebrow, and Troy shut up. That was the patented Dana Mitchell eyebrow. You did not mess with the eyebrow. Casually, Troy set his backpack down and went back upstairs to grab a shirt and jeans and his jacket. When he came back down, he shoved them in his backpack. "Better?" he asked.

"Much." Dana hugged him, and Troy inhaled sharply. She stepped back. "Troy, are you all right?" she asked, the doctor taking over.

"Fine, Mom." He tried to sound convincing.

"Everything _is_ going okay in school…right?" Dana asked.

He nodded. "It's fine, Mom. I swear." He picked up his backpack. "I'll see you tonight?"

Dana nodded. "Probably right after school, and then I go in about seven."

"Okay. See you for supper then." He waved and disappeared out the door.

Then he grimaced. "Ow."

* * *

Dana watched Troy until he was around the corner out of her eyeline. She bit her lip.

"Dana?" Carter yawned as he padded into the living room, still in boxers and no shirt. "Was that Troy?"

She nodded.

He leaned against her and slipped his arms around her waist. "Everything okay?" he asked his wife.

Dana turned so she was looking up at him. "I don't know," she said. She turned to look back out the window. "I just don't know."

* * *

Troy walked to the park a few blocks from their neighborhood. It had a nice jogging trail and even though he knew he shouldn't do anything with a cracked rib, he needed to stay in shape. He wanted the Power to hold up longer in his suit…and he was sore as hell and knew that it would only get worse if he didn't stay active.

He set his backpack down on a bench and started slowly down the trail. As he ran, the hair on the back of his neck stood up and he froze. He looked around. This early in the morning, the park was dead quiet. He couldn't see anything though, so he continued.

_There it was again._

He stopped again and looked off into the trees. _There's something moving in there_. Cautiously, Troy moved off the path and into the wooded area. He stopped behind a big oak tree and looked around it.

_Nothing. But I thought-_

He turned, and was staring straight at a seven-foot tall….thing. Another buglike creature, but rusty red in color. It had gold wings and silver armor. Its arms ended in two sharp points. Its feet were clawed.

"Who are you?" Troy demanded. "What are you doing here?"

The bug looked back at him cockily. If a bug could be cocky. It said simply. "The name is Creepox." It got in Troy's face. " _Remember_ it."

Troy couldn't help it. He flinched. Memories swam in his mind. "A-all right," Troy stumbled over the words. "You still haven't told me what you're doing here."

"I came to see what kind of creatures dare try to stop the Insectoids." Creepox pointed at Troy's stomach. "Humans. So…soft. With one stroke-" It made a slashing motion with one bladed arm- " you'd be crushed."

Troy glared at him. "We're a lot tougher than we look."

Creepox took a step forward. "Are you, now."

"I won't fight you just to prove it." Troy told him. Sensei Chad Lee's face filled his mind with an approving nod.

Creepox's mouth twisted into a semblance of a smirk. "You'll fight me. Count on it."

And with that, it pushed past Troy and disappeared.

Troy watched Creepox fade into the trees. "What the _hell_ was that?" he wondered aloud.

From somewhere out in the trees, he swore he heard Creepox laugh. Troy glanced at his watch. If he left now he'd make it to school on time. _Time to go._

* * *

Troy eased his arms into his jacket in time to hear the first bell sound out in the hall. He gingerly bent down to grab his backpack and then ran a hand through his hair. He left the bathroom and slid into Burley's class just as Mr. Burley was closing the door. Once they were all sitting and he'd taken attendance, Burley waved a stack of papers in the air. ""Pop quiz time," he announced, and as he expected, the entire class groaned. "This is just to show me what you remember from your previous encounters with biology." He counted out a stack and handed it to the person in each row. "Consider it bonus credit."

"Dude, I _hate_ pop quizzes," Jake groaned from behind Noah as he passed the stack of tests back. He looked at the first question.

"Relax, man. It's not even a real quiz. And you know this stuff," Noah told him.

Troy smiled as he bent over his test. Some of it he recognized from bio in Mariner Bay.

A memory inadvertently slid into his mind. A vision of a shoelace tied to the basket under the chair. A fall, and laughter.

_You will fight me. Count on it._

Troy gripped his pencil so hard he almost broke it. _Focus, Troy. Concentrate on the here and now._ He returned his eyes to his test and continued working. He had just finished diagramming a cell when he felt a nudge on his foot. He glanced over. Jake was grinning, and pointing up at Mr. Burley.

Troy looked up. Their bio teacher was crashed in his chair, a Rubik's cube on his chest. And he was _snoring_. Troy couldn't help it. He grinned back and then pointed to Jake's test. He returned to his own and finished the final question when the bell rang twenty minutes later.

The bell woke Burley up. He fell out of his chair. Noah ran up to help him and Troy waited for him out in the hall with Jake. The three boys laughed all the way to their next classes.

* * *

At lunch, the five of them sat together. The food was lousy today-Gia was correct, you had to get it on a good day. Today was some weird tuna salad something-or-other. Troy knew he'd be snacking after school.

"Hard to believe," Jake said as he pushed the tuna salad whatever-it-was around on his tray. "We save the city from a creepy bug monster yesterday….today we have a pop quiz in bio."

"Crazy," Emma agreed. She frowned, poking the tuna. "What _is_ this, exactly?"

"I think this was splattered on the pavement last night," Troy said. He frowned. "We had something like this back in Mariner Bay too."

"Obviously that's why the aliens are attacking here," Gia said. "I'd want to put this out of its misery too."

Emma grinned.

"Doesn't it feel weird to you guys?" Jake asked, tossing his plastic fork to the table. "I mean, Gosei said there was gonna be another attack and we're just…. _waiting_."

"Unless you have a way to get into space to spy on them, or they happen to get you a schedule," Troy countered, "we kind of have to."

"Which means we should enjoy normal, _real_ life while we've got it," Gia said, and Troy nodded in confirmation.

"Exactly," he said. He frowned. "Hey, anybody seen Noah?"

"He's got a free period before this," Jake said. "He's probably studying or something." He shrugged. "He forgets to eat sometimes. Last year he spent a whole afternoon in the library."

"That was hilarious," Emma said. "He totally missed the second half of the day because he was reading up on….what was it again?"

"The Loch Ness Monster," Gia said. She shook her head. "All those fake monsters and we're dealing with real ones."

"How did your mom and dad deal with it?" Emma asked Troy, keeping her voice low.

Troy shrugged. "They stayed with my Grandpa Mitchell in the base he built with the rest of their team. They were always on alert, but I know they also had time to do their own stuff. Like, Sensei Lee's a big water sports guy, so he'd go diving and snorkeling and stuff." He smiled. "Grandpa Mitchell said once it's kind of like being a firefighter or an EMT or something-you're always on alert, but you do have some time off. You just have to be ready when the bell rings."

The lunch bell rang then, making all four of them jump. They looked around at each other and chuckled nervously before getting up to head to their classes.

* * *

After school, Troy slipped into the bathroom again to change back into his sweats. His ribs still hurt, even with Emma sliding him some aspirin at lunch. She told him they could swing by the command center after school and she'd retape his ribs for him if he wanted, but all Troy wanted to do was go home. He even thought about taking the bus at least part of the way, but he knew if he did, he'd be getting home in time to face his mother before she left for work for the evening, and he did _not_ want to do that again.

His mom was too perceptive. He knew she'd picked up that something was different with Troy, and as long as she thought it was something with school and not with his, well, extracurriculars, he needed to keep it that way.


	8. Experiments & Encounters

Troy'd just about made it back to the park when he heard crackling in his backpack. He stopped and unzipped the big pocket, rifling around for his morpher, and pulled it out just in time to hear, " _-trouble at the beach! It's crawling with loogies!_ "

Troy's aching rib protested as he told Gia, "On my way!" He glanced around, ducking into the trees to get out of sight, and then pulled out his morphing card. "It's morphing time!" he called out. "Go go Megaforce!"

A moment later, he was ready for a fight and told the morpher, _Beach_. A split second later his boots touched the rocks. He realized they weren't far from the command center, and needed to keep the fight away from it if at all possible. "Heads up!" he yelled, brandishing his Dragon Sword. He looked around and spotted two alien-looking cargo nets in a heap nearby. Terrified faces looked back at him. _People. They've got hostages._

"Welcome to the party!" a morphed Gia yelled back from a group of loogies. Jake was near her, and Troy wondered how the two of them had ended up at the beach. "Where're Emma and Noah?" he yelled.

"On their way!" Jake yelled to him. "I hope!"

Standing at a high point, Troy noticed their latest monster of the day. It was gunmetal gray and blue, and the top half of him vaguely resembled a flying saucer-like the one Troy remembered from the movie _Close Encounters of the Third Kind._ He threw a loogie in a judo toss over his shoulder and into the waves below.

"What a magnificent sight!" the UFO-shaped monster exclaimed. "Three power rangers! Let the scientific experiments begin!"

 _What?_ Troy had just enough time to form the thought when something blasted him off his feet and slammed him into a rocky outcrop. Jake and Gia landed next to him, cringing on the rocks.

"We won't let injury stop us!" a voice yelled in their ears, and Troy saw a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye on a cliff nearby. Emma flew down to the rocks and gripped Troy under the arm to help him up. "Are you okay?" she demanded as Gia and Jake scrambled to their feet.

"Is _he_ okay?" Troy could practically hear Jake rolling his eyes. "We're fine, thanks."

Emma turned toward them. "You shouldn't have come here by yourself!" she accused Jake. "Too bad!" She turned to Troy. "What's he talking about?" she asked, jerking a thumb at the alien.

"He thinks he's some kind of scientist!" Jake interrupted. Emma's head turned toward the Black Ranger and Jake shrank back. He couldn't see her eyes, but Troy was betting Emma was furious that he'd gone somewhere with her best friend and Gia had gotten into trouble. It was _painfully_ obvious Jake had a crush on Gia and that he wasn't always thinking with his head around her.

"I get it…he wants to see what makes us tick." Emma realized. Then she looked over at the hostages. "And he's going to start with those people over there."

Troy pointed his sword at the alien. "That's _not_ gonna happen!" he announced.

"You want to fight?" the alien sounded amused. "More loogies!" it yelled, and about forty more of the green foot soldiers appeared on the rocks. "Restrain those specimens!"

Emma, Gia, Jake and Troy ran into battle, mowing down loogies left and right. Troy could still feel his injury, but with the Power and the suit, it didn't hurt as bad. _Once I'm out of morph I bet I feel it…._

And then he heard, "Saucer Wave!" and something flew into him and slammed him into the rocks. _Nope. There it is._ He rolled, groaning.

"Excellent," the alien wannabe scientist said. "Kinetic attacks highly effective, and fatigue is increasing the results. Perhaps we should see if they're immune to fire!"

"Have I mentioned I _hate_ science?" Jake moaned as a fireball slammed into them, nearly knocking them all into the ocean. Troy looked around for Emma and Gia, spotting them behind Jake, struggling to get up. _We need Noah. Where the hell is he?_

As if she'd read his mind, he heard Emma say, "We need help!"

Troy used the point of his sword to stand. As he turned to face the alien scientist again, blue laser blasts sent the alien reeling.

Troy looked up to see Noah standing up on the cliff, his bowgun pointed directly at the alien. "See Jake?" Noah said as he joined them. "I _told_ you flying saucers were real!"

"if we live through this," Jake promised, "I will never doubt you again. Where _were you?"_

 _"_ Burley's office," Noah replied. "You should see the cryptozoological evidence that he has proving the existence of the Loch Ness Monster!"

Gia clapped Noah on the shoulder. "How 'bout you come play with a _real_ monster for a few minutes?" she suggested. Then she turned to Troy. "Time to take this guy down!"

"Fury of the Dragon!" Troy held out his sword. "Earth's defenders _never_ surrender!"

He felt Gia looking at him from his left. "Really?" she asked, cocking her head.

"What?" Troy defended himself. "It was _your_ idea."

"Stop messing up my experiments!" the alien yelled. He charged toward the Rangers. "You won't stop me-"

Noah charged him, the momentum knocking them _both_ into the ocean.

"Noah!" Troy yelled. The Rangers ran to the edge of the rocks. Troy searched the water. There was no sign of their Blue Ranger. _Oh no._

 _"Noah!"_ Jake screamed.

Just then, the water exploded as the alien came flying out of the depths, landing on the rocks once again. It was immediately followed by Noah, who landed on his feet with ease beside his teammates. "Let's try an experiment of our own," Noah suggested. He held out his water card.

"Let's do it!" Troy and the others pulled out their cards for the Megaforce Blaster. The weapon assembled and Troy aimed."Target acquired!"

The alien's eyes widened. "You can't mean-"

"We mean _you_!" Troy informed him. "Dynamic Victory Charge!" He took aim down the sight. "And- _fire_!"

Energy spouted from the blaster and hit the alien point blank. There was a fireball and an explosion. "Yeah!" Emma cheered. "Got him!"

And then the alien stood up again. "No. Way!" Jake protested. "We _had_ him!"

"Guys!" Emma said urgently, and pointed. Pouring from the sky were thousands of little bat-like creatures with a single eye. They converged on the alien scientist.

The alien scientist started to grow. _Oh. No_. Troy realized what was happening. "That's not good."

"What?" How is that possible?" Gia demanded.

" _Move!_ " Noah yelled, as a giant foot came dropping out of the sky toward them. He shoved Jake and the other rangers scattered.

It tried to step on them again. "The experiment continues! You move fast for such inferior creatures."

"What do we do, Troy?" Emma asked him. The others looked at him, expecting him to know what happened next. Troy had an idea, but... "Gosei? This guy's _huge_ and trying to step on us! Got any suggestions?" _Please, please, please give us what you know we need..._

 _"_ Controlling this new power requires great skill and discipline," their mentor's voice sounded in Troy's ear.

"We're ready Gosei." _We have to be._ Troy crossed his fingers, and felt a tingling feeling in his belt buckle. He pulled out a new card. This one had a bright red metal dragon on it. He grinned. _Gotcha._

"Then take these cards and use them wisely," Gosei told them. Troy looked around. "Just like the ones for the blaster, guys. We've got some _big_ help coming." His teammates watched as he put the card in the morpher and slammed it closed.

"Gosei Dragon, _activate_."

For a moment, nothing happened. The other rangers used their cards. But all they could hear was the alien scientist bellowing above their heads, and the sound of waves on rocks.

"Uh, was something supposed to happen?" Gia asked.

Jake swore. "We're screwed."

Then, Troy heard a low roar. He turned around, and his jaw dropped.

It wasn't every day that a three story red dragon and an equally-large phoenix appeared in the sky, after all. "Oh man, sorry Mom and Dad, but that is _so_ much cooler than yours," Troy whispered. "Yes!"

A blue shark leapt from the ocean, and above them, a great black snake and a yellow tiger appeared on the horizon. "Wow," Noah said.

"Hell yes!" Jake cheered.

"Gosei told us the earth would help us protect it!" Noah punched the air.

"I hope they run on biofuel," ever practical Emma said.

"Nope," Troy said with a grin, "they run on _us_. Our courage, our strength… _we_ give them power." Troy looked up at the red dragon. The phoenix screeched. "Let's go!" Troy yelled and thought, _Zord_. He teleported into the red dragon, landing in a pilot jump seat with a joystick control. He dropped his morpher into the panel in front of him. "Morpher locked!" He heard the others following suit.

It was like shoving a fighter jet into afterburner. The dragon roared and shot forward. "Yeah!" Troy yelled. _I'm really flying a dragon. A freakin' dragon!_

He headed straight for the saucer alien. And then groaned as it split into several smaller saucers and came at him. "Wasn't expecting that," he muttered. He grabbed the stick and pressed down hard on the red button on top. Laser fire split the sky, destroying several of the smaller ships. "Yeah, that's right!" He jerked the stick, sending the dragon into a roll to evade three saucers, then coming upright and firing again.

"I could use some help!" a voice yelled over the comm. _Emma_. The smoke from the destruction of the saucers made the sky so dark it was nearly night. "There's so many of them!" he heard Noah gasp.

"Emma?" Troy yelled into the comm system. Then he spotted her at his two o'clock, being chased by five of the saucers. "Emma, look out! Drop down!"

"Okay!" He watched the Phoenix drop straight down, and Troy fired on the saucers. Three exploded and two scattered, then came right back after Emma.

"Emma, look out!"

"I don't know where to...oh!" Troy watched her put the Phoenix into a dive into a highway tunnel. The saucers couldn't bank and slammed into the rocks above the tunnel. "Cool!" she pronounced. "Now what?"

"Nice flying there, GI Jane," Troy teased her. He cranked the dragon sideways and fired on a few more. Below, he saw Jake in the Snake Zord and Gia in the Tiger tearing into a few more in the trees of the state park between Harwood and Stone Canyon. Noah and his Shark were dominating, using the water. He'd dive in to throw them off, and then pop back out and fire on them.

Emma stayed low to the ground while Troy kept high. _He can't have many of these stupid things left...can he?_ Out of the corner of his eye and low, he saw some converging on Emma. "Emma! Behind you!"

"I can't see them!" Emma called back. The smoke was thick in the air.

Troy blasted two out of the air in front of him and the sky was temporarily clear. "Emma, pull up! Trust me!"

He watched the Phoenix come screaming up in front of him. The two saucers following Emma popped up too...right between them. Troy grinned and pulled the trigger. They exploded and he rode through the smoke. "He shoots, he scores!" he yelled. Then, "Whoa!" He almost ran into Emma from behind. "My bad!"

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Emma yelled at him.

"Guys, that last one's going down!" Noah reported from somewhere off the coast. "We did it!"

"Impressive but futile," a booming voice filled the air. Ahead, the five rangers saw the alien, still standing, and largely undamaged.

"Is he indestructible?" Noah complained. "This is getting old."

"Rangers, combine your Megazords," Gosei told them. "Form your MegaZord."

"You got it," Gia announced. She and Jake pulled in so they were just under Troy and Emma. The tail end of Jake's Zord curved around and connected to Gia's Tiger. Then, everything behind the cabs of the two Zords went vertical. Troy landed the dragon on top. He felt Emma and Noah connect on either side of his vehicle, and then the five of them materialized together in the chest of the MegaZord, seated together. "Hey, guys," Troy greeted them from his position front and center. "I suppose you wonder why I've called you here today..."

"This thing is _sick_!"Jake pronounced, pounding his fist on the console. "Let's _do_ this."

"Let's finish this guy!" Troy agreed with him. "For good!" He punched a few buttons and a five-story version of his Dragon Sword appeared in the Phoenix's hand. They traded blows with the saucer alien, but they weren't making much headway.

"I've got an idea," Gia said as she scrolled through their armament. "Mega Punch?" she asked Troy, showing him the screen. Troy gave her a thumbs up. "Mega Punch it is." The sword disappeared. The zord's arms lifted, and the heads of the shark and phoenix disconnected, heading for the alien. They slammed into him and knocked him backwards in the trees. "One more," Troy said, with a look at Jake. Jake nodded. "Mega Kick!" Jake announced, and the leg formed by the snake lashed out in a spinning kick and brought the alien to its knees.

"Rangers! Use your Victor Charge!" Gosei told them, sounding pleased.

"Let's finish this," Troy said, punching up the combination.

"Victory charge, activate!"

"Let's finish him!" Noah yelled. The Dragon Sword reappeared and glowed, crackling with energy and light. "Mega Strike!" they yelled together, and Troy swung the sword, slashing the saucer alien across the chest. He exploded.

Troy gave it a full count of thirty, and when it didn't materliaze again, announced, "That's a mega win!" The rangers cheered.


	9. Secret Identities Suck

"I am proud of you, rangers. Your bravery and teamwork saved the day!" Gosei praised the team. The five rangers sat, unmorphed, on a bench outside the mall, listening to their mentor through Troy's morpher. Troy had bought some aspirin for his injury, and ended up sharing it with most of the team, though nobody had anything broken like he did. Emma had taped his rib again back at the command center. _All I need is a break. Give me a day to heal, crazy aliens._

"You guys flew!" Tensou's tinny small voice chirped at them. He sounded excited, like a little kid. Troy couldn't help but grin. He exchanged a smile with his team.

"Thanks, Gosei,"Troy said. He stuck his morpher in his jacket pocket and leaned back. "So much for normal," he sighed. He looked at the rest of the group. "Seriously, how are the rest of you still in one piece?"

"Maybe we're just more careful, oh fearless leader," Jake shrugged. " _Ow_!" he yelled, as Emma punched him hard in the arm. He looked at her. "What was that for?"

"Oh, it's not just you," Emma growled. She glared at Gia. "What were the two of you _thinking_?" she demanded. "You should have waited for us!"

"I-"

"We-"

Emma held up a hand, silencing them both. "You could have followed them to the beach and then called us for backup. There's _no_ reason, not _one_ , that you guys should've gone into that fight by yourselves." She looked at Troy. "Right?"

"Um," Troy began, looking at her, "right?"

"There, you see?" Emma turned to Jake and Gia. "We are a _team_ ," she stressed. "We stick together."

"It was a lot easier together," Gia admitted. "I'm sorry, Em. We thought we could handle it." She looked at Jake. "I guess we know better."

"We're pretty awesome on our own," Emma said. "I'm not saying you guys aren't amazing, 'cause you are." She smiled. "You guys are my friends and amazing rangers."

"But as a _team_ , we're unbeatable." Troy stood up gingerly. "Speaking of unbeatable…I need to tell you guys about something that happened this morning." He looked at them. "But first, I need banana frozen yogurt like you wouldn't believe. Is that offer to go to Ernie's still good?"

Noah pointed. "It's right across the plaza," he said. He looked at Jake. "You buying?"

"Yeah, man, no problem," Jake replied, standing and hefting his backpack.

"Awesome, Jake, thanks!" Emma grinned, linking arms with Gia and sauntering away toward the mall.

Jake's jaw dropped. "I…I meant Noah…"

Troy and Noah laughed. "Just roll with it, dude," Troy told his friend. "Consider it an apology for today."

Jake sighed. Troy clapped him on the shoulder and the boys followed the girls into the mall. The air conditioning was freezing. They found Gia and Emma already in a booth back in the corner by the door, and the guys slid in next to them. Ernie was a short, bald man with a Pakistani accent and a big smile. He took their orders without a notepad, and returned in less than eight minutes with their orders and five spoons. Troy took a spoonful of his banana-flavored yogurt and then leaned back. The others stared at him around the table.

He relayed the story of Creepox to them. "I know it's not the last time we've seen him. He wants a fight."

Noah pulled his red spoon out of his mouth and studied it. "I wonder what his position is with the aliens," he wondered aloud.

"We didn't get as far as rank and serial numbers," Troy shrugged. "Just names."

"Well," Gia decided, "next time he shows up, if he wants a fight, we'll give him one."

"No," Troy replied instantly. Gia's eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to start a brawl with an alien that's trying to attack our planet. I won't give them an excuse to escalate." He stood up, wincing. "I've gotta go. I'll see you guys in school tomorrow." He brushed past Emma and headed for the trash can.

"Should we go after him?" he heard Noah ask.

"No," Emma replied. "Let him go." He could feel her eyes on him until he was out of eyesight. Outside, he leaned against the window and closed his eyes. After a moment, he walked out to the curb to hail a cab for home.

* * *

Carter heard the front door open over the sounds of Van Halen from the kitchen. He turned the radio down and listened. "Troy?" he asked finally.

A few moments later, Troy came into the kitchen. "Hey," he said. He looked at the stove. "Soup and grilled cheese?" he asked, looking at the bubbling red tomato soup.

"I didn't get home til about five minutes ago. I needed something quick since your mom won't be around for supper tonight." Carter glanced at the clock. "You're home late."

"Yeah, I ah…" Troy looked at the floor. "I stayed after to do some homework. The teachers here are evil, we had a pop quiz our second day of bio."

Carter chuckled. "Those fiends," he said. "How dare they." He looked around for something on the counter. "Troy, you wanna go in the fridge and grab me butter and the cheese?"

"Sure." Troy came into the room and reached for the refrigerator door. He pulled it open and grimaced as the movement tugged on his rib.

"I knew it," Carter said from behind him. He reached in over the top of Troy and grabbed the cheese from the door. "Your mom noticed it this morning when you picked up your bag for school." Troy closed the fridge and leaned against the door. _Crap_.

"What is it, a broken rib?" Carter asked, tossing the pack of cheese slices on the counter. "Looks like a broken rib. Did you have someone tape it for you?"

He worked on putting together a sandwich, waiting for his son to respond. Finally, Troy said, "Yeah. A friend at school."

"Oh, so you _do_ have friends," Carter said. "Besides this one that gave you the broken rib?"

"Yeah, Dad," Troy said shortly. He was mad at himself and annoyed that he'd been found out.

"And what are the other ones like?" Carter asked him, tossing the sandwich into the frying pan. "Any other broken bones I should know about?"

Troy pretended to think about it. "Nope, that's the only one," he said sarcastically.

"Any particular reason you're lying to us on your second day of school?" Carter asked as he flicked the burner on.

"Not really," Troy replied, slipping into a persona he hadn't needed to be in almost a year. "I've got homework."

"That you didn't finish after school?"

Troy closed his eyes. His dad had a keen eye and ear as an arson investigator. He should have known his dad would catch the inconsistencies in his story. Rather than reply, he brushed past his dad and went upstairs to his room. Carter heard the door slam. He took a deep breath and let it out. Knowing his wife was still at work, he picked up the phone and dialed the only other person he could think of to talk to.

" _Hello?"_

Carter smiled at the voice. "Hey, Bill. How's Mariner Bay?"

" _Carter_!" Bill Mitchell's voice said through the phone. " _We're all fine here. Did a little deep sea fishing the other day with your dad and Ryan._ "

"Yeah?" Carter chuckled. "How did that go?"

" _We have some great pictures. Caught some really nice ones_."

"That's awesome. How is my dad? I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to call them."

" _They're doing good. Your brother apparently bought a ring the other day…"_

The image of his little brother getting engaged was hard for Carter to wrap his head around. "I didn't know David had anyone that serious."

" _She's cute. She's in the same master's program he is at Sacramento State. Sounds like he's happy with her."_

"That's good news." Carter made a mental note to give his brother a call later in the week and play stupid so his brother could tell him himself.

" _And I'm guessing….the reason you're calling isn't?"_ Bill asked him.

Carter shook his head. "How did you-"

" _I can hear it in your voice, son_." Carter heard the TV click off on Bill's end of the phone. " _What's going on?"_

"I think Troy's having trouble at school again," he told his father-in-law. "He's got a cracked rib, he's been coming home late…"

" _Have you talked to him about it?"_

"Yeah. It was a pretty short conversation." He sighed. "I was hoping the move would be good for him. Now I'm not so sure. We're starting off on all the wrong footing."

" _Has Dana talked to him at all?"_

"No. She's still settling in with the hospital. She's been working some long shifts. She was the first one to catch his injury though, this morning before school."

" _That medical mind of hers_ ," Bill said knowingly. He was quiet for a moment. " _Maybe this weekend you should have Chad up to visit him. I know Chad really helped him…you know, before_."

Carter closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah. Maybe you're right." He sighed. "Thanks, Bill. Appreciate the talk."

" _No problem, Carter. That's what family is for. Don't forget to call your brother."_

Carter nodded. "Thanks again. I'll talk to you later."

" _Carter, if it's not too much trouble, you wanna have my daughter give me a call sometime_?" Bill was quiet. " _I miss her voice. And with Ryan and Kelsey being so busy…"_

 _His father in law was lonely_. Carter bit his lip. "You bet, Bill. She doesn't go to work tomorrow til the afternoon. I'll tell her she needs to call you first thing."

" _I'd appreciate that. Thank you. And good luck with Troy. He's a good kid, he just needs to know he's got someone he can talk to."_

"I hate that it isn't us," Carter said. "I thought we were more open since every thing, you know, before."

Bill chuckled softly. _"It could be the move, it could be the new school. It could just be stress. Don't worry about it too much. It'll all turn out okay. Good luck, Carter_."

"Thanks Bill. Talk to you soon." Carter clicked off the phone and flipped the grilled cheese. He knew that Troy wouldn't be in much of a mood to come down for dinner, so he dished out soup and a sandwich and dropped them in front of his door. Then, he retreated to the living room with his dinner. He set it on the coffee table and reached for the paperback he had on the arm of the couch.

He heard Troy's door open and close upstairs. Curious, he got up and went to the foot of the stairs.

The food was gone.

 _Well, at least he ate it_. Carter returned to the living room and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes. _Hopefully whatever's bothering him, Chad can help him with._

Before he could forget, he went back into the kitchen and grabbed the phone again, along with Dana's address book. Dana was the one keeping track of all their former teammates, and he was pretty sure she had Chad and Rachel Lee's new number. Flipping to the L's, he found Chad's home phone. He would talk it over with Dana and see what she said before he called their friend.

In the meantime, it was time to call his parents and fill them in on how things were going. _Though he'd maybe leave a few things out._

* * *

Troy sat at his desk staring out his window, his plate and bowl sitting in the corner. This sucked. His behavior had nothing to do with school. School was going pretty well, based on two days in. He had friends that he could talk to and relate to. No, his behavior had everything to do with his newfound responsibilities of being a Power Ranger.

He just wished he could explain that to his parents. If anybody could understand, it'd be them. They'd dealt with the same set of issues.

But if these invading aliens ever discovered his identity, and came after people he cared about, they'd _definitely_ see two former Rangers as a threat.

So he'd keep playing 'old Troy.' He hated his old self, but that identity was going to keep his family and friends safe.


	10. Almost Busted

Sleep did not come easy for Troy in the next few days.

_The battle rages around him. As he fights his way through some metal-headed monsters, he takes a moment to check on everybody else. A ranger in a red uniform with black tiger stripes is using some muay-thai style moves to knock down a few, high-fiving a taller ranger in purple with two sculpted ears on the side of his helmet. He looks to his right and sees a red ranger in a samurai-styled uniform using a wicked-looking metal sword in his attacks._

_More of the metal soldiers drop from the sky. It's going to take a miracle to win. Something hits him in the back and he feels sparks as he drops to his knees-_

Troy bolted awake, swearing he could feel the sting in the middle of his back. He looked around his pitch-black room. He glanced at the clock. 5:30 AM. He rubbed his hands over his face. "Why do I keep having this dream?"

It was a Saturday, two weeks from the first day of school. The Insectoids had been surprisingly silent the last few days and Troy was now enjoying a mostly-healed rib. He kicked his feet off to the side of the bed. _No way I'm getting back to sleep_. Not without returning to the battle, and he did _not_ want to know what happened next.

He went downstairs in his flannel pajama bottoms, stopping to open the front door to pick up the morning edition of the Harwood County Press. The sun was just coming up. He decided to hang out outside until his parents got up. He unrolled the paper and grinned at the picture on the front page. Some very intrepid photographer had gotten a shot of them in their last fight against the Loogies. All five of them were standing in a fighting stance in the big front-page picture, and where the story continued on page 2, there were individual shots of each of them, neck deep in the fight. He couldn't help but smile. Because even with all the secrets and the lies and the danger, being a Power Ranger was freakin' awesome.

He wondered how everyone else was dealing with parents. Maybe he'd ask Jake or Noah later, see if they had any ideas. He finished reading the article and then stood up to go inside.

"Good morning," his mother greeted him from the doorway. Dana was standing just inside the screen door, a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Mom," Troy said, startled. "You're up early."

"So are you," Dana replied with a smile. She came out onto the porch to join him. "Everything OK?"

He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Didn't pay to try to go back to sleep."

"Big plans for your Saturday?"

"Nah. Probably a run. Maybe some homework."

"Are you feeling okay?" Dana teased him. "Homework on a Saturday? What about your friends?"

"I think they're all busy." Truth be told, he was pretty sure everybody had thoroughly been enjoying their relaxing days, and today would be no different.

"So when do we get to meet these friends of yours?" Dana asked him.

Troy thought about it. "Uh, I dunno," he said finally. "Did you have something in mind?"

"Well, your dad and I were thinking maybe a barbecue next weekend since it's a long weekend for you, and maybe inviting the Mariner Bay family to come too. Our yard's a lot bigger here, so we can have a bigger party."

 _A bunch of former Power Rangers and the current team of newbies._ Inwardly, Troy grimaced. "Sure, Mom," he said. "That's great. I'll ask them when I see them."

"In the meantime, your Dad and I need to run to the mall today to pick some stuff up. Do you want to come with us?"

 _This is a test_. Troy knew it. If he said no, his parents would spend the rest of the day talking about him and wondering why he was antisocial. And saying no also meant that there was something going on and they were right. "When are we leaving?" Troy asked, trying to sound appropriately bummed at the prospect of shopping with his parents. "Do I have time for a run?"

"Mall opens at 10," Dana said, and Troy could hear the relief in her voice.

"Awesome," Troy said. He stood up. "I'm gonna go change, go for a run, and I should be back in like….an hour?"

"Sounds good. We'll have breakfast ready." Dana ruffled his hair. "See you in a while. And Troy?"

Troy turned. "Stay out of trouble," Dana told him. He nodded.

* * *

Harwood County Mall was hopping at ten-fifteen when the Graysons pulled into the parking lot. "Your dad and I need to go shopping for formal wear," Dana told Troy as they got out of their pickup. She raised an eyebrow at her husband.

Troy caught the look and frowned. "Okay, what kind of look is that?" he asked.

"Your mom doesn't like to dress up," Carter reminded him. He poked Dana. "Must be an aftereffect from your modeling stint."

"Shut up, Carter," Dana said, sticking her tongue out at him. "Troy, how about if we meet you at the frozen yogurt place in an hour or so? We'll do dessert first before lunch?"

"Sure, Mom. Sounds good. Have fun."

She rolled her eyes as Carter pulled her in the direction of the Macy's outlet store.

Troy wandered the mall a little, trying to stay active after his run so he wouldn't get stiff. As he passed a toy store, he noticed some Power Ranger figurines in a display. _Of course, they're in again._ He recognized the uniforms on the action figures from his dream. He didn't know what team they were.

He did not want to be thinking about his dream, and tried to think about something else. As he passed Ernie's Brain Freeze, the place was hopping, but he spotted a familiar face in pink shorts and a denim jacket inside, and that got him thinking about a whole _other_ thing. He walked in and said over the hopping Top 40, "Hi Emma." He tapped her on the shoulder.

"Ah!" Emma whipped around, and Troy noticed she was holding a blue recycle bin. "Hey, Troy," Emma greeted him. "You gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry. What are you up to?" He looked at the recycle bin. "Do you work here?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Just helping with the recycling. I know Ernie's been looking for extra help though, if you're interested."

"Yeah, I'm not sure if I can pull school plus a part time job plus um….our other job," Troy admitted.

Emma smiled. "I know what you mean. I-"

Emma was interrupted by loud laughter coming from the tables near the door. Troy and Emma both turned to see a crowd of kids from the high school gathered around a guy in a gray t-shirt and jeans.

"…No, I'm not kidding. Must have been 100, no 150 of them! And I hit one with a toaster and said 'you're toast man!"

Troy looked at Emma. "The heck is that?" he asked, as Ernie came up to them in his bright yellow Fro-Yo t-shirt with a tray of yogurt.

Ernie grinned and pointed. "That guy's saying he's the red Power Ranger."

Troy raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" He and Emma exchanged a grin.

"Wow," Emma drawled. "That's amazing." She turned to Troy and rolled her eyes. Ernie didn't see it.

"…let loose with a flying roundhouse kick and Boom! Down go the monsters. And you wanna know what I call that? A typical Tuesday."

"Wow. What a faker." Emma turned to Troy, hefting the recycle bin in her hands. "You gonna do anything about it?" She winked. "He is trying to be you, after all."

Troy listened to the guy rattle off some more fake stories. Then, he shook his head. "Yep. I'm gonna take these to the recycling bin." He picked the bin from Emma's hands and disappeared toward the back of the shop. Emma watched him go. "Um….okay…."

She was still staring when Gia wrapped her arms around her best friend and hugged her from behind. "Hey Emma!" Then she whispered, "Who ya staring at?"

Emma elbowed Gia in the stomach and Gia laughed and let go.

"What's going on?" Jake asked, coming in behind them.

"That guy's been tellin' everybody he's the Red Power Ranger," Emma pointed to the kid in the corner.

Noah pushed his glasses up on his nose and studied the kid. "That's Jordan Rogers. He's in fourth period English with me."

Jordan was continuing with his stories. "The other rangers aren't bad, but I can pretty much handle those monsters all by myself."

Jake rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "You gotta be kidding me," he said furiously.

Gia put a hand on his elbow. "Just some poser looking for attention," she said. "Calm down. Let's grab some fro-yo." She looked at Emma. "So…is Troy around?"

Emma shot her a Look just as Troy came out of the back, wiping his hands off. "Hi, guys," he said. "Didn't know you guys were gonna be around. What's up?"

"Killing a Saturday," Gia shrugged.

"Killing Jordan Rogers," Jake muttered.

Troy looked over at Jordan. "He's still at it, huh?" He shrugged. "Don't let it bother you guys," he said. "We know the real story. He'll get found out soon enough. We just need to stay focused on our mission." Just then, two familiar faces walked into the shop. "Oh….shoot."

"What?" Noah went to turn around, but Troy grabbed his arm.

"Wait," Troy said. "It's my mom and dad. Listen, they don't have a clue you know they were rangers and you guys need to act like you don't know either, got it?" he asked hurriedly. Before they could agree or disagree, Troy had whipped around with a smile. "Hey, Mom. Hi Dad." He looked at the bags in their hands. "You guys must've found what you were looking for?"

"And a little more," Carter muttered. Dana hit him in the chest. He coughed, then looked at his son. "Who're your friends?" he asked, looking at the four faces.

"Ah, Mom, Dad, this is Noah, Gia, Emma and Jake," Troy introduced them. The teens waved, all except Emma, who actually stepped forward for a handshake with Carter and Dana. "Guys, these are my parents, Carter and Dana."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Burrows," Emma said as she shook Dana's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Dana said warmly. "Do you guys come here a lot?"

"It's kind of the only happening place to be," Jake shrugged. "And the yogurt's pretty good."

"Yeah?" Carter asked. "So what's the best flavor?" he asked him.

Jake looked at Noah. "Well, we're partial to the blue raspberry," Noah said.

"I'm old school," Gia shrugged. "Chocolate."

"Now we're talking," Dana said. She pointed to the counter. "Go order. We're buying."

"You are?" Troy asked, looking at his parents.

"Sure," his mom said. "You guys are broke teenagers," she teased, and Troy shook his head.

As everyone got in line to order from Ernie behind the counter, Carter's attention was drawn to the crowd of kids in the corner. He pointed. "Something exciting going down over there?" he asked.

"….I coulda been blue, but nah," Jordan was telling his fan club. Troy looked at Noah. Noah looked ticked.

"Oh, that guy is saying he's one of the Power Rangers," Troy explained with a side glance at Emma and Gia.

"Is he, now?" Carter said. "Not doing a very good job of keeping a low profile is he?" Off Dana's look he added, "I mean, I don't know if I'd want the world knowing I was a superhero. Imagine the paparazzi."

"That's what we thought," Jake muttered in Troy's ear.

The door to Ernie's shop slammed open and Corey, one of the kids in Troy's history class, came skidding to a stop inside. "There's monsters attacking the city!" he cried.

No sooner had he announced that, there was a loud tone from Jake's sweatshirt and Gia and Jake's jacket.

 _Crap._ Troy looked at his team. His parents were looking at them. "Emergency alert," Noah said quickly. "We all get them on our cell phones."

"Yeah," Emma jumped in. "Ever since the monsters started attacking, we put it on our phones so we know not to go outside."

Gia was watching Jordan intently. "Ha. What's he gonna do?" Jake whispered to Gia, seeing who she was looking at.

She saw Jordan straighten up. She looked at Jake in alarm. "You don't think…"

Jordan squared his shoulders. "Yeah. Yeah I am." With that, Jordan walked out of Brain Freeze, headed for the exit.

Troy looked at his mom and dad. Both of them were tense. "Um, Mom, Dad?" he ventured. "Maybe you guys should go, like, let emergency services know they'll be working overtime," he suggested.

Carter blinked and looked at his son. "Um, yeah," Carter said after a minute. "Dana, you should probably go call the hospital."

"Sure," Dana replied. She smiled apologetically at Troy and his friends. "Sorry guys, I guess we'll have to rain check on the yogurt. I'm thinking we're going to need to go into work. Troy, why don't you meet us at the truck?"

"Sure, Mom," Troy said. "No problem." He waited until his parents had gone over into a corner to make their respective phone calls.

"We're losing time. Come on." Gia said.

"We gotta get there before that guy becomes monster food," Jake said. With that, the five of them left Ernie's, leaving Carter and Dana behind.

* * *

Carter hung up his cell and turned to his wife, who was also just getting off the phone with the on call doctor at the ER. "Can you imagine if that guy would've tried that when _we_ were Rangers?" he asked.

"Joel would've pulled his morpher out right there," Dana said with a smile. "Nobody would've stolen Joel's thunder like that!" She looked around. "Where'd the kids go?"

"Knowing kids, probably out to discreetly watch the action," Carter shrugged. "Like they think we don't know."


	11. Be Yourself

Jordan Rogers was in over his head. As the rangers sprinted up to the County officeplex, Jordan was on the ground scrambling away from blue laser fire in terror. The offending insect was blue and yellow. His head reminded Troy a little of a praying mantis. "Stop!" Troy yelled.

"Why don't you deal with someone who can fight back?" Gia called to the blue bug. His team laid down cover fire, and Troy ran over to Jordan and pulled him to his feet.

"Leave this to us. You need to get somewhere safe. It's gonna get busy." Troy told him. He tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice as he pulled Jordan along, down a set of stairs away from the plaza. "Stay low and get out of here," Troy ordered him. "We need to focus on beating him; we can't be worrying about you."Troy pointed with one gloved hand, and Jordan managed a shaky nod. Hoping the guy listened, Troy returned to the fight. "Okay, I got him out of the way," he reported.

"Careful, this guy's so fast he's practically invisible!" Noah told him.

As if to prove the point, the bug ripped through the center of their defensive circle, slashing Troy across the chest with his blades. "You can't stop what you can't see!" the bug taunted them. "And I'm not even trying hard!" With a blast of wind, the bug was gone again. Troy grinned. _Gotcha_.

He turned to his team. "Just focus, guys. We can't _see_ him, but we can _feel_ the wind he creates when he moves."

"Say what?" Jake said doubtfully.

Troy pulled out his Dragon Sword and waited. _He'll be back._ Soon, he felt a rush of wind. " _There_!" He lashed out with his sword. Sparks flew as the bug spun to a stop right in front of them.

"Hey! How'd he do that?" the bug complained.

"Nice, Troy!" Emma said approvingly.

"Now let's finish him," Noah growled, and the five of them advanced with their blasters. They fired, sending the bug staggering.

"Go Rangers!" The yell from behind them made them all turn.

"What's _he_ doing back-" Gia started at the sight of Jordan's head poking up from behind a set of cement stairs, but she was interrupted as all five of them were blown off their feet by laser fire. They hit the white tile ground and rolled.

Troy bolted back to his feet, and his jaw dropped when he realized who the hit had come from. " _Him_ again," he growled, glaring at the gold and red, silver-plated Insectoid he knew as Creepox.

"You're _mine_ now, Red." Creepox hissed at him.

Troy shook his head. "Think again, you cockroach." He looked back at his team. "You guys can handle that other pest." Noah gave him a thumbs up and the four others went after the blue and yellow bug. Troy waited until they'd battled out of the area, then Troy came flying at Creepox with his Dragon Sword. He was unprepared for Creepox to grab the sword and effectively stop him dead in his tracks. Creepox threw him backwards, then fired on him.

Troy landed hard on the ground, but refused to quit. "I don't like bullies," Troy informed him. "You're just looking for a fight." Creepox took a shot at him again, hitting him on the arm with such force it spun him around. Luckily, seconds later, the others were there, blasting him back.

"Back off!" Gia yelled at him.

"I'll be back." Creepox pointed at Troy. "This isn't over."

"We'll be here," Troy shot back. He watched the red and yellow insect streak away. A yell made him turn to see Jake, still morphed, up in Jordan's face.

"Do you have _any_ idea what you could've done?" Jake was tearing into Jordan.

Troy ran up to the group. "Hey!" he yelled, trying to calm Jake down. "Chill," he muttered, grabbing Jake's arm. He looked at Jordan. "You shouldn't pretend to be something you're not," he told their fellow teenager.

"Yeah," Jake couldn't resist. "You put yourself-and the rest of us-in big time danger!"

"I never thought I'd get into a _real_ battle!" Jordan protested.

"Dude, just go home!" Jake yelled at him. Troy put a hand on Jake's shoulder. "Enough," he told the Black Ranger. He turned to Jordan. "He's right, Jordan. You can't stay here. You need to get somewhere safe in case that bug comes back." With that, Troy and the others took off, heading for the park that ran all the way back to the subdivision where Troy and his parents lived.

* * *

Halfway into the trees, Troy felt the hair on his neck stand up. "Guys, stay morphed," he said. "I think we're being followed."

Noah chanced a glance backwards. "It's Jordan," he announced. "Saw him duck behind that rock."

"What is _with_ this guy?" Jake groused.

"Let's find out," Troy suggested. A moment later, as Jordan came around a bend, his quarry was gone. He turned around a couple of times, searching the trees.

"You know," Noah said casually, stepping out from behind a tree, "it's not cool to sneak up on people."

The others stepped into the clearing until they were surrounding Jordan. Jordan held his hands up. "I-"

"What are you doing here?" Jake sounded exasperated.

"You shouldn't have followed us." Troy told him. "We told you to stay put."

"Why do you keep following us?" Emma asked him, crossing her arms over her chest. "And why do you keep telling people you're a Power Ranger?" She pointed to Troy. "We've already got a red ranger, thanks."

"I just…" Jordan trailed off awkwardly. He toed up some dirt onto his sneaker and looked at them. "I just wanted to know what it felt like to…to be looked up to for once." Then he threw his hands in the air. "But I get it. I'm no superhero."

Troy looked over at Emma, noticing her arms slowly fall to her side. Suddenly, he realized where Jordan was coming from. Jordan wanted to fit in and be noticed. Troy had felt that way. With two famous parents, Troy was always the Ranger's kid. Being the Ranger's kid got him attention, but not the good kind. He remembered wanting to be recognized for being himself and his own personality and likes and dislikes and skills. Not his parents' fame and heroism.

Emma was watching Troy, waiting for him to say something, but he was quiet. So she jumped in. "Look, it's obvious you're a nice guy," Emma told Jordan, meaning it. "Maybe the best way you can help the world is by just being yourself."

Their morphers all beeped at the same time, announcing that the bug was back.

"We have to go," Troy said, snapping out of his memories. "Please stay here." He brushed past Emma and the others and led them out of the forest.

"Troy-" Emma started.

"Not now," Troy interrupted. "Let's focus on exterminating this bug."


	12. Chapter 12

They arrived on the outskirts of Harwood, where the bug was busy smashing the main freeway into pieces. "Our planet is _not_ your playground!" Troy yelled at him.

"Yes it is!" the bug yelled back.

"What is this, kindergarten?" Gia rolled her eyes.

The bug responded by sticking its tongue out at them. "You got lucky last time, but your luck just ran out!"

"Let's get him, guys!" Troy ordered. He took a step and a slash toward the bug, but his sword met the metal claw of Creepox instead. "Hey!" Troy yelled in protest.

"Nice try, but I'm not Dragonflay," Creepox told him.

"Good. 'Cause you're the one I'd rather fight anyway," Troy told him. He was mad at getting lost in his memories and getting sucked back into old feelings. He felt bad for ignoring Emma. He was tired of this situation with Jordan, and he was sick of this stupid bug destroying Harwood. In short, he was looking for a way to vent, and Creepox provided the perfect opportunity.

"We've got Dragonflay!" Noah told him, and Troy nodded, trusting his team to get it done. He turned to face Creepox again. "Time to send you back under the rock you came from."

"Some of my best friends crawled out from under rocks. We insects were on earth long before you were, and we'll be here long _after_ you're _gone_!" With that, Creepox took off for a parking garage near the bus stop, and Troy followed him in. The garage was dark despite the fact that it was the middle of the day. Troy's first sight of Creepox was sparks from his bladed hands against a white car. Troy jumped onto the roof of the parked Acura and swung his Dragon Sword at him. He got him on the shoulder, but Creepox battled back with his bladed hands. He caught Troy on the chest and sent him flying into a small maintenance cage. Troy hit the orange grating and landed face first on the pavement.

"Give up. Humanity's time on this planet is _over_." Creepox said menacingly.

Troy climbed to his feet. "You've come across the universe just to be disappointed. We'll never stop fighting," Troy promised.

"You're a worthless species who will soon be wiped out!" Creepox picked him up and threw him into a wall. "The future belongs to the insects!"

Troy was cornered. He couldn't dodge the next slashes from the bug, several hard-hitting ones across the chest. He couldn't help it-he cried out in pain. He slumped to his knees, but faced Creepox. "You don't understand us at all," he ground out. "We have the ability to learn and get better! Even if we fall a hundred times, we never stay down."

"I'll make _sure_ you stay down!"

"No way." Troy used every ounce of strength he had left and grabbed a hanging sign listing the clearance as 10 feet, and launched himself over Creepox. He twisted back with his sword and hit Creepox hard across the back.

The bug staggered. He looked at Troy and roared. "This isn't over!" Creepox told him, before disappearing again.

"Go on," Troy whispered. "Run away." Troy's uniform disappeared in a blast of light. He fell forward, in pain. He took a few deep breaths. Tears stung his eyes. _God, that hurts!_

"Troy!" Emma came running into the garage, the others on her heels. "What happened?" she asked him, helping him stand. Noah came on his other side and helped him the rest of the way.

Troy took a short breath. "Battling Creepox took a lot outta me. He got away. I'm sorry."

"Then we won't let this one!" Emma told him. "If you can morph again, we'll finish him with the Megazord!" The others nodded in agreement.

"Okay," Troy agreed, wincing in pain. He pulled out his morpher. "Go Go Megaforce!" he yelled, and was instantly his Red Ranger persona. He followed the others into the MegaZord cockpit, practically collapsing in his chair.

"Where'd he go?" Noah wondered, looking around with the heads-up displays, but not finding the bug.

The MegaZord rocked. "You're going down, quick as a wink!" they heard the bug announce. Pretty soon Dragonflay hit them in the back, then on the sides.

"We need to be quicker." Troy said quietly. At the next rock of the Zord, he cried out, and a second later, he was out of morph again. "I-I can't do it. You guys have to take over."

"Troy!" Emma said sympathetically.

"We won't let you down," Gia promised. "Jake, our zords are the feet. This is our game. Ready?"

"Yeah, we'll show him when the going gets tough, we get tougher," Jake said. Shoving their controls forward, Gia and Jake pushed the Megazord after Dragonflay. Jake launched the snake zord's head. It bit Dragonflay hard in the ankle, but it didn't slow him down much.

"It's gonna be tough without Troy's power," Noah said worriedly.

"We'll find the speed we need!" Gia replied. Emma put a hand on Troy's shoulder. Troy was barely awake.

"Trying to give me a run for my money?" the bug taunted. He took off out toward the state park again. Gia and Jake fought to keep the Megazaord on his heels.

"Just a little more," Gia said. The throttle was all the way down. Just then, Troy noticed the console in front of him starting to glow. "Hey, guys," he said, nodding to them. "Look."

Gosei's voice entered the cockpit. "These new power cards will increase your propulsion," he told them. They heard Tensou chattering in the background.

"Sweet! Let's try 'em out!" Jake yelled.

Gia punched the card into the slot. "Land brothers, activate! Jake, check it out! Dino, beetle and rhino zords." They started to catch up. On the display, Troy watched as the Megazord's feet were replaced by the new Zords. They gave them the extra boost, and Noah shot a shark-shaped hand out and caught the bug.

"I'm getting nowhere fast!" the bug complained.

"Yeah, that's right!" Noah said hotly.

"Dynamic victory charge!" Gia called out, signaling for their final move. The blast enveloped the giant bug and it exploded into nothing. Gia looked down at their leader. "Can I say it?" she asked Troy. Troy nodded with a grin. "Mega Rangers, that's a mega win!"

"Nope, doesn't sound any better when you say it," Troy teased weakly. He closed his eyes as the cockpit spun. "Get me outta this thing."

* * *

Carter and Dana stood in the mall's small covered lot, leaning against their truck. "Where the hell is he?" Carter wondered worriedly. "He left before we did. He should be here."

"There he is," Dana said, pointing as their son came through the automatic doors. He was trying to hide it, but both of them could see he was hurt. "Troy, what happened to you?" Dana asked him. She looked him over. "Are you all right?"

"Fine, Mom," Troy replied wearily. "People panicked, there was a stampede in the mall. I guess the big bug thing or whatever the rangers were fighting almost stepped on the building." He shrugged, though the movement hurt. "I got caught in the middle of it. The cops just cleared everybody out."

"Come on," Carter said, gingerly putting a hand on his son's back. "Let's go home. I've had enough of being at ground zero for one day."

"Sounds good," Troy replied. _If only he knew how close he really was_.

* * *

Troy collapsed on his bed the moment they got in the door. Everything hurt, from his head to his feet to his ribs to his pride. It had been reckless, taking on Creepox like that, and he was paying for it. He had just closed his eyes when there was a knock on his door. "What?" he asked, sounding harsher than he meant to.

The door opened and both of his parents stepped into the room. "Troy," Dana began, "we need to talk to you." Carter stepped in and took a seat backwards in Troy's desk chair. Dana sat down on the edge of the bed.

Troy sat up carefully. "What about?" he asked.

"How about why you've been lying to us since school started?" Carter offered.

Troy bit his lip. "What do you mean?"

Dana sighed. "You know, you could've just told us you were one of the new rangers," she said finally.

Without meaning to, Troy breathed a sigh of relief. That instantly radiated pain down his body. "I don't get it," Troy drew his knees up to his chest. "How did you-"

Dana and Carter exchanged a knowing smile. "You forget your parents were rangers," Carter said. "For one thing, today you were conspicuously absent when the rangers were out."

"And the jeans with the holes and the shirts with dirt and rips and blood?" Dana smiled. "I'm a _doctor,_ Troy," she reminded him. "You're not hiding bruised ribs from me."

"The 'emergency alert' on your cell phone?" Carter continued.

"Before that monster bug appeared?" Dana continued. "Nice to see that part didn't change much," she told Carter.

"Nope. Oh, and the obscene amount of red clothes you've been having in your laundry," Carter finished.

Troy sighed. "Are you mad?"

Dana shook her head, resting a hand on his leg. "Not mad. Worried, maybe. Terrified-"

"Proud," Carter cut in. At his wife's glance, he added, "Well, and all that other stuff too."

"It's not like I can tell you to _not_ save the world," Dana said. "Even though I'd like to. I just wish you'd have told us." She sighed. "Nobody would understand better than us."

"I just wanted to protect you," Troy said, now able to get a word in edgewise. "I didn't want you getting into trouble because I'm a Power Ranger. I just thought it'd be easier to pretend it was bad stuff at school instead of what it really was."

"So you were pretending to be something you're not?" Dana couldn't resist. "Sounds like someone else we knew of this morning…"

Troy nodded. "Yeah. I know."

"Promise us two things," Carter asked his son. "One, that you're always careful and don't take unnecessary risks."

"Okay," Troy nodded.

"And two, that if it's _ever_ too much for you, you tell us." Carter ticked off his finger. "I know you've got your team, but if you guys ever need someone 'in the know' so to speak, you talk to us."

"Who _is_ your team?" Dana wanted to know. She was pretty sure she already knew.

"Um," Troy said. "Jake, Noah, Gia, Emma-"

"Thought so," Dana said triumphantly.

"You may want to mix up your wardrobes," Carter offered. "Trust me, you'll get sick of the same thing every day."

"Tell me about it. After we turned our morphers in, I burned everything pink I owned," Dana said. She looked at Carter. "I kept my boots though. They were cute boots."

"You didn't burn _everything_ …" Carter said with a grin.

"Stop!" Troy covered his ears. "I don't need to hear any more."

Carter grabbed his son's foot and shook it. "I meant a shirt, you goof! You feel up to some dinner, kid? Or do you need to sleep today off?"

Troy was torn. "Sleep," he finally admitted. "Mom, could you tape my ribs for me again?"

She nodded. "Sure, kiddo." She helped him lift his shirt. "Good _Lord_ , Troy," she exclaimed, looking at the dark purple bruises. "What did _that_?"

Troy gave her a rundown of the fight with Creepox. "He's weird, you guys," he told his parents. "He comes looking for a fight, and then disappears halfway through it."

"He's testing you," Carter decided. "Looking for weaknesses. He's just a bully." He looked at Troy. "And you're more than capable of handling a bully." He stood up and disappeared from the room. They heard the bathroom door open.

Troy nodded. "I know," he said. "Next time he won't get away. I'm done getting picked on and I'm done getting split off from my friends."

"That's our boy," Carter said with a proud smile, returning to the room with the pre-wrap and the tape. He tossed the roll at Troy, who didn't bother trying to catch it. He let it bounce off his head and onto the bed. He raised an eyebrow at his dad and stuck his tongue out at him.

Dana hit her husband on the arm. "You did that on purpose," she accused. "Get out. Doctor's orders."

Troy winced as he lifted his shirt again for his mom to get to work. "Mom, seriously, you have no idea how much better I feel now that you guys know. It was really hard to hide it from you. School is amazing, my friends are great. I'm okay with us moving." He looked at her. "I just wanted you guys to know that."

Dana tore off a piece of the pre-wrap and started working on the tape. She smiled. "That's good to hear, Troy."

* * *

Carter was leaning against the wall in the hallway. He smiled.


	13. A Human Problem

Troy wasn't a huge fan of history. _Well, let me amend that_ , he thought to himself as he pored over the biography section of the library. _I am not a huge fan of Mrs. Hunt assigning ten page papers due by semester break._ He pulled out a book on Adolph Hitler. "Hits a little too close to home right now," he muttered. He put the book back. This was not how he'd wanted to spend his free period, stuck in the library, but he'd put off his paper for too long and now it was due in a week. He ran a hand through his hair. It'd been about three weeks since his fight with Creepox and his ribs were near healed again and his bruises were almost gone. It felt good to be able to breathe without keeling over. Creepox hadn't appeared in that time either, which Troy was thankful for. The bug general was nothing more than an outer space bully and Troy did _not_ want to deal with those.

Things at home were much better. He could tell his parents still worried about him, but he and his team were proving themselves more than capable of handling the Insectoids. Although, now he tended to freak out a little more if he saw wasps buzzing around outside. Long story.

 _This is stupid_. He closed his eyes and pulled out a book. He could hardly pronounce the Chinese general's name. _Oh, what the heck. Why not_. He took the book up to Mrs. Pettis and checked it out for the week. He heard the bell and started to walk to his next class, flipping through the pages. He flipped halfway into the book and started reading in the middle, stumbling over the Chinese pronunciations. _Oh boy, yeah, this was a great selection._

He hit something solid and looked up. Standing in front of him were two guys he didn't know. One was a taller guy wearing blue and gray flannel. The guy next to him was stockier, wearing a bulky gray hoodie, no doubt to try to match his friend's size. The big guy was glaring at him. "Sorry," Troy said.

The skinny kid glared at him too. "Going somewhere?" he demanded.

Troy closed his book and let his hand drop to his side. He looked at the two of them, studying them. He was aware a crowd had gathered. _Your afternoon entertainment_ ….he thought to himself.

"Know what we call new kids around here? Fresh meat." The stockier guy poked him in the shoulder to emphasize the last two words.

Troy moved to go around them, only to find them both blocking his way again. He looked up at the bigger guy, who had a couple inches on him.

"What's wrong?" the skinny guy asked him. "You gonna cry?"

Troy had had enough. He took a step forward and got in the bigger kid's face. "Take a good look," he said slowly. "You see any tears?"

The two held their ground for a few moments, Troy never breaking his gaze.

After about ten seconds, the big kid blinked. "Come on," he told his friend. "This chump's boring me." He looked at Troy. "This isn't over."

Troy watched them go down the hall and turn the corner. He shook his head.

"Can you believe those bullies?" He jerked, and turned to see that Emma and Noah were standing next to him. No doubt they'd watched the whole thing. "Someone should teach them a lesson," Emma said. "That's Roy Sandberg and Barry Ellis. Roy plays center on the football team, and Barry has been his lackey since we were in grade school."

Troy walked over to his locker and spun the dial to put his book away. "Troy, how do you stay so calm?" Noah asked his friend.

Troy rifled through his locker. "They didn't bother me," he said after a moment. He closed his locker. "I'll see you guys in class." He brushed past them and headed for his next class.

Noah looked at Emma. "What was that all about?" he wondered, hefting his books.

"I don't know," Emma said. "I think I might have an idea, though. That just made a lot of stuff make sense." She looked at Noah. "Come on, we better get going."

* * *

Troy barely paid attention in English.

_Mariner Bay, sometime last year..._

_He waited until the bell had almost rung, before stepping out of the bathroom and practically sprinting to his next class. He'd almost made it when a big hand reached out and snagged his shirt collar, yanking him around a corner. The slight sophomore stared up at a giant senior, a recent transplant recruited for the wrestling team._

" _Hey Troyboy," Kevin Holland greeted him, but there was no friendship in the voice. "How's it going, Troyboy?"_

_Troy didn't answer. He wasn't entirely sure he could form an answer anyway. Kevin didn't really want one, he knew._

_Kevin pushed him into the wall. "How come you never fight back, Troyboy? Your parents were Power Rangers. Didn't any of that crap rub off on you?" He pushed Troy's shoulders down so Troy was now sitting on the floor. Troy didn't know exactly why Kevin hated him so much. It was no secret who Troy's parents were. It was also no secret that his Uncle Ryan and Aunt Kelsey and his Grandpa Bill had all been involved with the Lightspeed Rescue project. They even studied it in their history books. When he'd been in elementary school, it'd been kind of cool. As time went on, people sort of forgot about it. His parents were just Dr. Grayson and his dad worked for the fire department's arson squad. But ever since Kevin had moved to Mariner Bay at the beginning of the year and heard through the grapevine who the sophomore's parents were, it was like he'd made it his personal mission to make Troy's life hell. As if somehow, being the kid of a pair of Power Rangers meant Troy was a challenge somehow. "You're such a loser. I bet your parents can't believe they got a weakling like you for their kid."_

_The bell rang in the distance. Troy's only consolation was that if he wasn't in class, someone would notice eventually. He hoped._

_Kevin kicked him in the leg. "Come on, Troyboy," Kevin egged him. "Fight back."_

_Troy kept his mouth shut. Kevin's response was a punch to his eye. Then, without a word, the bigger boy left him there. "This isn't over," Kevin told him._

_Troy knew it. This was the twelfth day in a row. He waited until Kevin's heavy footfalls faded away, and then he carefully got to his feet. He couldn't see much out of his right eye. But he could see the green EXIT sign in the corner, and he made his escape._

"Troy?"

Troy snapped out of the flashback and looked up at his teacher. "The bell rang, Troy. Are you feeling okay?"

 _Not really_ , Troy thought to himself, as he got up and left the room.

* * *

After school, Troy took the bus home. He'd managed to avoid Emma and Noah and the others the rest of the day by waiting until the last minute to get into class and then leaving right when the bell rang. When he got there, his mom was home and Troy smelled marinara on the stove.

"Hi Mom," he greeted Dana as he came inside. There was a pile of grocery bags on the kitchen table. He opened one. "You think we have enough hamburger buns?" he asked, looking at the filled bag.

Dana snorted. "You haven't been away from Uncle Joel and Uncle Ryan for that long, have you?"

"Oh yeah….right!" This was the weekend his parents were having the big barbecue thing for their Mariner Bay friends and Troy's new ones. "In that case…" Troy did a quick count. "You might wanna buy another case or so."

Dana laughed. "How was your day today?" she asked. "Didn't hear any sirens or anything, must've been quiet on the monster front."

"Yeah….on the monster side of things it was," Troy replied. He shucked his backpack and sat down at the table, pushing away a few bags to clear a space.

"And on the human side?" Dana asked him, turning to lean against the counter.

Troy looked at her and shrugged one shoulder. "Two guys in the hallway today thought they could pick on me," he told her. "But I didn't let them get to me."

"Sensei Lee would be proud," Dana told him. "You've come a long way."

Troy thought about that. "Yeah, I guess," he said. "Need help with dinner?" he asked.

"If by 'help' you mean 'can you taste test the sauce'," Dana teased, "then no, I'm good. You can go put your school stuff away and come back and set the table though."

Troy looked at the sea of shopping bags currently between him and a clean surface and groaned.

* * *

Thursday afternoon as Troy was making his way to the front of the school to grab the bus, he heard a desperate voice crying down the hall that led to the cafeteria. Troy looked around. No one else seemed to be noticing. He stuck his head around the corner and spotted Barry and Roy and a younger boy who looked like he was a freshman, wearing ill-fitting jeans and an orange plaid shirt and glasses. Roy had a plastic container in his hand and was holding it above the shorter freshman's head. As the kid reached for it, Roy tossed it high to Barry.

"Give it back!" the younger boy pleaded. "There's a live bug in there. You're gonna hurt it!"

Troy's hands clenched into fists. _Stay calm. You can't do anything if you fly off the handle. Stay in control of the situation._ Sensei Lee's voice echoed in his mind.

"You gonna cry, crybaby?" Roy asked the younger boy. The freshman stared up at him, and Troy applauded him for not crying.

Roy's demeanor shifted. He looked at Barry. "Hey, I think he's really upset," Roy told his buddy. His features softened and he looked at the plastic container in his hand. Then, he held it out to the boy. "Here."

Troy watched the freshman take a tentative step toward Roy. Almost as quickly, Roy the jerk returned and he yanked the boy's bug out of his reach again. "Psych!" Roy yelled in the freshman's face, and this time, Troy _did_ see tears starting to form in the kid's eyes.

Troy stepped around the corner and grabbed Roy's wrist in a tight grip, forcing him to drop the plastic container. Troy stepped around so Roy could see him. "Just because you're bigger doesn't mean you can pick on him." He stared into Roy's eyes, and could tell it was making him uncomfortable. He dropped his grip on Roy's hand and Roy jerked it away. "Everything deserves respect," Troy told him.

"Whatever, Freak Show." Roy stepped over to Barry, trying to act tough. He pointed at the freshman. "We'll see you later," he threatened. With that final promise lingering in the tense air, the two of them brushed past Troy and out into the main hall.

Troy waited until he was sure they were gone, then handed the plastic container to the kid. "Here," he said. "I think this is yours."

"Thank you," the freshman said, sounding relieved. "I'm Howie."

"Troy," Troy introduced himself. He pointed to the black beetle in the container. "What is that?" he asked.

"It's a Haldeman Click Beetle," Howie told him. "They're really rare. I found one by the creek yesterday and Mr. Burley said if I brought it in today, he would give me extra credit!"

"Cool." Troy smiled. He looked at his watch. "I need to go, Howie, or I'll miss the bus. See you around!" Before the freshman could say anything, Troy had disappeared around the corner himself, sprinting for the bus.

"Hey, Troy!" Noah yelled from behind him, and Troy turned. Noah and Emma were standing behind him. "We're gonna go for a walk down by the beach…interested in coming?"

Emma waved her camera. "The swells are huge!" she said with a grin. "Makes for awesome photos."

Troy watched the school bus disappear around the corner. "Might as well," he said. "There goes my ride." He shouldered his backpack and followed them down the street. "Wait up!"


	14. One Less Bully

They were halfway to the beach when their morphers sounded. " _Creepox is in the forest,"_ Gosei reported. " _Jake and Gia are already there."_

"So much for big swells," Noah said.

"Just big bugs," Emma replied. "Let's go." They felt a buildup of energy as Gosei teleported them from their position into the trees. Troy looked around. It was quiet. There wasn't anyone around.

"Where's the attack?" Emma wondered, sounding confused. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up, but there was nothing around.

"Where's the monster?" Noah echoed.

" _Creepox's last signal was in that area,"_ Gosei told them. " _Jake and Gia's morphers are active there."_

The three teens looked around. They were standing in a clearing devoid of anything. "Where are they?" Troy said.

"Jake? Gia?" Noah tried to raise them on the comms. "Nothing," he said worriedly.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Emma bit her lip.

"Guys, if they're here, we'll find them." Troy said reassuringly. He looked at Noah.

"I think I can triangulate their morphers." Noah pulled his out. Gosei fed him the coordinates they were currently standing at, then the last position of their friends' morphers. "This way!" Noah said after a minute of mental math. He took off so fast Emma and Troy had to sprint to keep up with him. "There's an old logging plant somewhere near here," Emma said as they ran. Creepox is probably holed up there." She pointed, and took off a little faster, forcing the boys to catch up. The doors were rusted off their hinges, but as they came into the space, Emma gasped. "Jake! Gia!"

Troy saw them as she said it. Their teammates were sprawled on the sawdust floor, unconscious. Their morphers were cast aside nearby. Emma knelt down next to Gia and felt her friend start to stir. "They're alive!" she said, relieved. Next to the girls, Jake was just starting to come around as well. Noah gently helped his best friend to a sitting position. Troy bent down across from them.

"What happened?" Troy asked them, when Jake opened his eyes.

"Creepox," Jake grimaced. " He just left. Must've thought we were dead."

Gia looked at Emma, then at Troy. "He's on a rampage," Gia said. "We first found him by the school. He was gonna get some freshman kid, but we stopped him."

"Freshman?" Troy asked. _She couldn't mean…._

Gia nodded, and winced. The movement hurt. "Looked like. Red hair, glasses. He had this plastic thing with a bug in it-"

"Howie," Troy realized. He stood up. "Emma, stay here with them, get 'em on their feet. Noah, you're with me." Emma and Noah nodded. Noah stood up and followed Troy out into the trees. Above them, they saw meteors raining down over the city.

"Meteor shower?" Noah pushed his glasses up on his nose. "That's impossible."

"That's Creepox," Troy said. "They're coming from that way. Let's go."

Troy threaded his way through the trees, finally coming out somewhere near the coast. The Insectoid general was standing on a cliff, raining fiery meteors toward city center.

"Enough Creepox! We're here! We're what you really wanted, isn't it?" Troy yelled. The bug turned around to face the two teens.

"You figured that out, huh? I've been waiting for another chance to face you," the bug growled. He looked at Noah. "And you brought a warmup. Isn't that nice."

Troy could see how cocky the general was. His silver armor was missing today. "I've had enough of you, Creepox. This ends today."

"When we fought before, I got cocky. And that gave you an opening to exploit. But that won't happen this time. Maybe I'll keep you around long enough to cry over your world. Because make no mistake, this world _will_ belong to the Insectoids."

"Shut up," Troy said. "Did you bring us out here just to talk us to death?" He looked at Noah. "No more talking."

"Agreed," Noah said, furious at the bug for what he'd done to Jake and Gia. He pulled his morpher from his backpack. "It's morphing time!"

"Go go Megaforce!" he and Troy yelled together, and the Blue and Red rangers were instantly met with a blast from Creepox. Troy ducked around him and kicked him in the chest. Creepox managed to get a bladed arm around and knocked him back. Noah decided to skip the hand to hand and drew his blaster, getting off a shot to Creepox's shoulder. The bug was knocked back a step, but that knocked him into Troy, who he then picked up and threw at Noah. The two rangers collided and hit the ground.

"Let's try something else," Noah suggested, and his Shark Bowgun appeared in his hands. Next to him, Troy pulled out his Dragon Sword, and they went after Creepox again. Noah launched an arrow that glanced off Creepox, but it distracted him enough that Troy got in a nice hit with his sword.

Creepox growled furiously, and with one bladed hand, knocked Noah, who'd been trying to sneak up on him, back into the dirt. "Noah!" Troy yelled. "You okay?"

Noah gave him a weak thumbs up.

"Just you and me, _Red_ ," Creepox said. "You're all alone. Time to start crying."

"Take a good look," Troy seethed behind his helmet. "You see any tears?"

"Time to end this once and for all. I expected more from you." Creepox's bladed hands began to glow. "Meteor shot!" he growled. Several fiery meteoroids came flying toward Troy. Troy closed his eyes and braced for the impact.

"How's this for something more?" Noah yelled, stepping in front of Troy, his hands holding a watery shield. "I don't know how much longer I can hold this," he admitted to Troy, gritting his teeth. "But I wanted to give you a shot at him." Then, as if to prove his earlier statement, the shield collapsed and both boys were blasted over the side of an outcrop, landing twenty feet below on the beach.

The fall was enough to knock them both out of morph. Troy rolled over to see Noah on his stomach. He helped his teammate to his feet. "Noah, if you hadn't blocked that shot I'd be dead. You okay?"

"Yeah. Fine." It was obvious though that he wasn't fine. He couldn't even get to a sitting position. "Okay, maybe not," Noah admitted.

"Don't worry. I'll take it from here." Troy stood. "Creepox is driven by his superiority complex. But the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"Troy….why does this guy bother you so much?" Noah asked.

"Because he's a bully." He stood up, to where Creepox was standing across from them. "And I've had enough of being bullied to last me a lifetime."

"Let's go! Fight me!" Creepox yelled at him.

Troy nodded. "Wish granted," he yelled at Creepox, morphing and running at him. Something about Noah getting hurt woke up something, and he was faster and quicker, attacking Creepox from every direction. Even with the new speed, he was hardly making a dent. "Accept the inevitable, human," Creepox said.

"Never!" Troy replied. He took a running jump and found purchase on a little hill behind Creepox, slashing him across the shoulders-if the bug had shoulders-from behind. Creepox howled, and swung an arm, knocking him off the hill, but Troy rebounded and fought back. To his surprise, he was gaining ground.

Apparently, it was also a surprise to Creepox, who decided to fight dirty. Troy was unprepared for him to use the meteor attack again. Without Noah there to slow it down, Troy was hit hard. He hit the ground and rolled, demorphing as he went. He fought to hold on to his Dragon Sword.

Creepox's blade came screaming down toward his head. Troy brought his sword up just in time. He held on for dear life as Creepox tried to bring his blade down on him. "No strength left…." Creepox taunted. "No one to save you. Beg as I destroy you. Beg for mercy."

"Not…gonna…happen!" Troy gathered what little strength he had without his suit, knocking Creepox's hand into the mud beside him. It stuck long enough for Troy to roll out of the way and morph again.

There was a moment of disbelief on Creepox's part as he watched the Red Ranger stand to face him. And he was starting to wonder if the humans were really as weak as Admiral Malkor and Prince Vrak were making them out to be.

With a yell, Creepox lunged at Troy. Troy leapt from his position. Creepox bared both blades, but Troy was quicker. As he flew at Creepox, he ducked low and jabbed the Dragon Sword upwards, catching Creepox across the middle. His boots skidded in the dirt, and he turned around to face Creepox.

Creepox was holding his bladed hands across his middle. "No, no it can't be!" He looked at Troy, who was demorphed and watching him, his Dragon Sword in his hand. "Fall to a weak human like you?" Troy said nothing as Creepox dropped to his knees and exploded in a burst of energy and flame.

Troy looked at the spot where the bug general had been standing. "I am _not_ weak," he hissed. His sword disappeared in a burst of red light.

"Great job Troy!" He looked back to see Noah and the others running toward him. Noah clapped him on the back. "You got him!"

"That's one less bully to worry about," Emma said softly from behind him, and Troy turned. Before he could say anything, a shadow fell over the group.

"Oh…..of course," Jake groaned, pointing.

The 80-foot version of Creepox appeared above their heads. "I want a piece of this guy," Gia said.

"That makes two of us," Jake agreed. He looked at Troy. "What do you say?"

Troy grinned. "It's morphin' time!"

* * *

Sixty seconds later the Megaforce team was in their Zords and facing Creepox from the cockpit.

"Let's shut him down!" Gia said as they drove a fist forward. Creepox blocked it but they got a second punch in. Creepox retaliated with several quick blows to the Zord.

"He's knocking us all over the place!" Noah announced unnecessarily, as Creepox rained blows on them. Jake lashed out with the Zord's foot and hit the bug in the knee, knocking him down. Emma slammed a fist into him, sending him reeling down the freeway.

Troy caught a familiar glow in Creepox's hands. "Brace for impact!" he yelled, realizing what was coming.

Five house-size meteors came flying at them, knocking the MegaZord sideways. At the last second, Noah reached out with the shark and caught the top of an unfinished tower, propelling them away from city center and out toward the docks. The Zord crashed into a pile of freight containers.

"Gosei! We need help!" Troy yelled, as Creepox appeared practically on top of them.

" _Troy, you've proven to me that you're ready to lead. Your courage has unlocked the Ultra Gosei Great Megazord."_ There was a glow on their panel displays, and five new cards appeared. Troy recognized three of the figures from their fight with Dragonflay, and several new animal-shaped robots.

"We won't disappoint you," Troy told their mentor. They placed the cards in the slots, and the new Zords appeared.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Creepox taunted as the MegaZord climbed back to its feet. Troy saw a flash, and saw Creepox's silver armor appear.

"We got this," Jake told Troy, tossing a thumb at Noah.

"You bet," Noah said, and the two of them sent the new Zords flying at Creepox, tearing chinks in his armor plating. They pounded on the general, relentless, for a good two minutes. Troy saw Creepox stagger.

"Now!" Troy yelled, and punched up the combination for the Victory Charge. "Ultra Mega Strike!"

Creepox dropped like an eight-story sack of potatoes. "You may have won this battle, but you won't win the war!" he threatened. With that final ominous warning, the general exploded, gone for good.

"Yes!" Troy practically jumped out of his seat. "Good job, guys," he congratulated his team.

* * *

Safely on the ground, the teens demorphed and blended in to the crowds. "Creepox is actually gone!" Emma cheered. Gia snaked a hand around her friend's waist and hugged her.

"If that's not a reason to celebrate, I don't know what is," Noah added, pumping his fist.

"I vote we go to Ernie's for some celebratory fro-yo," Jake proposed, doing a little victory dance. Gia rolled her eyes. Troy shook his head.

"We really gotta find some other way to celebrate," Troy laughed. "Or I'm gonna need a part time job to pay for all this banana yogurt." But he let the others pull him towards the mall. As they walked into Ernie's, the five of them were stopped dead in their tracks as Roy and Barry walked up to them. Roy looked straight at Troy. "Stop!" Troy tensed.

But then, Roy reached down and grabbed Howie's beetle, which was trying to scurry out into the mall. He looked at Troy. "Everything deserves respect," he said, and he handed the bug back to Howie. Troy nodded, and the two boys walked away. He looked at his team. "I wonder what happened there?" he wondered.

"Who knows?" Emma shrugged. "Let's just hope it stays like this," she said.

The rangers took a seat at the counter. "You did an incredible job fighting Creepox, Troy," Emma said. "I just wondered…you were so intense with those bullies. You got bullied in Mariner Bay, didn't you?"

Gia, Jake and Noah all turned to their leader. Ernie came to take their orders, which they gave, then turned expectantly back to Troy.

Troy nodded, and recounted his experiences with Kevin. "It got so bad that I would skip classes," he said. "I'd tell my mom and dad I was going to school and then go hide out in the park for the day. My grades slipped, and I got really moody and upset. My mom and dad didn't know what was going on. I didn't want to talk about it." He smiled. "And then one night, they dropped me off at my Uncle Chad's dojo downtown…"

* * *

_Mariner Bay_

_Troy stared at the punching bag disinterestedly. Chad Lee sat cross-legged on the blue mat beside him. "Your mom and dad wanted me to talk to you," he told him._

_His honorary nephew didn't answer. "I know the signs, Troy," Chad said finally. "The bruise under your eye hasn't quite faded. You're jumpy when someone comes up behind you. And your mom's a doctor, you're not fooling her." Chad leaned back on his palms. "How long have they been picking on you?"_

_Troy didn't answer, but Chad watched his hand drift unconsciously to his eye._

" _Okay," Chad said, climbing to his feet. "You don't have to talk." He grabbed two pads and slipped them over his hands. "Let your fists do the talking." He took a defensive stance across from Troy. "Come on. Hit me."_

_Troy looked at him, confused. "What?" he asked, the first word he'd uttered since Dana and Carter had dropped him off._

" _You heard me," Chad said. "You're frustrated and angry, and you look like you need to vent. And I'd rather you take it out on these-" he clapped the pads together- "than on yourself or someone else." He made a 'come here' gesture. "So let's go."_

_Troy said nothing._

_Chad sighed. He decided to try a different tack and hope it didn't blow up in his face. "You're right," he said, and Troy's eyes widened. Coming from a man he considered his uncle, this wasn't what he'd expected to hear. "You don't wanna hit me. You probably can't hit the broad side of a barn. I bet you can't even make my hands move. You're weak."_

_Troy's eyes flashed, and Chad watched his fists clench into a white-knuckled grip. "I am_ not _weak," he hissed._

" _Then come on," Chad challenged. "Bring it on. Prove it."_

_Troy lashed out at Chad's right hand. It was a sloppy punch. "What was that?" Chad demanded. "My grandmother can hit better than that, and she's pushing 85." He slipped off a pad and rotated Troy's arm. "Hit me," he said again. "Put a little bite into it."_

_Troy slammed his fist into Chad's left hand. Chad felt it. "Come on, Troy," he demanded. "Come on!"_

_His nephew hit him. Again. And again. Tears streamed down his face. Periodically, Chad adjusted his arm into the proper position, or his body into a stronger stance._

_A half hour later, Troy was shaking. Whether it was exhaustion or sadness or anger, Chad wasn't sure._

" _You're not done, kid," Chad told him, pushing him. "I still sense it. Don't quit on me. You'll prove them right. Prove you're not weak!"_

_Troy's right foot snapped out toward Chad's teeth. Chad caught his foot deftly with his left hand, inches from his face. He looked at Troy, who was breathing heavily. Then, Chad smiled, and dropped his foot._

" _Good," Chad praised. "Feel better?" he asked him cautiously._

_Troy ran a hand through his hair. Then, he nodded. "Yeah."_

" _Good. Wanna go again?"_

_Troy smiled, and Chad breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah," Troy said. "Let's go."_

* * *

"Which reminds me," Troy said as he finished his story. "My parents are having this barbecue thing this weekend at our place. All my relatives will be there, and they wanted you guys to come too." He studied the banana yogurt on his spoon. "My mom and dad know. I told them. I couldn't keep hiding it from them. They know about us, they know about you guys, and I think this is their way of saying 'welcome to the family' for lack of a better term."

"We'd get to meet the Lightspeed Rangers?" Noah said excitedly.

Troy laughed. "If you're gonna fanboy all over my aunts and uncles, Noah, you can stay home."

Noah ducked his head, embarrassed. The others laughed at him, patting him on the back.


	15. Meet the Family

"Hey! Anybody home in here?"

Troy's eyes snapped open upstairs in his bedroom. He grinned, throwing the covers off the bed and opening his bedroom door. At the bottom of the stairs, he saw a familiar pair of tennis shoes.

"Grandpa Tom!" he yelled, as he threw on a shirt and a pair of shorts and came flying down the stairs, wrapping his arms around Tom Grayson. Tom staggered a little under his weight. "Geez, kiddo, take it easy," he told his grandson. "You'll break an old man."

"Grandma here too?" Troy asked.

Tom laughed. "She's in the car. She didn't want to come wake everybody up."

"I knew I always liked Mom better," Carter said as he came into the entryway, yawning. He gave his father a hug. "Morning, Dad."

Tom returned the hug. "This is what happens when you leave the door unlocked, son. I got a text from David, he and his girlfriend can't make it down, so that's two less people."

"And about eight less hot dogs," Carter noted. "That's a bummer. Would've been nice to see him again. Did you bring your grill?"

Tom nodded. "It's on the back of the truck."

"I'll help get it down!" Troy offered. He threw on a pair of flipflops and ran out to the truck. Carter watched him open the passenger door and give his grandma Lisa a hug.

"Hi Tom," Dana said as she came into the room. "Thanks for the wake up call."

Her father in law grinned. "I couldn't resist. Besides, the convoy from Mariner Bay should be rolling up soon, so someone had to make sure you were decent," he told her. The three adults joined Lisa and Troy outside. Troy had just removed the bungee cords from the truck so that Carter and Tom could lift the grill off the back of the truck. Carter wheeled it into the backyard and Tom carried the propane tank. Lisa and Dana went inside to start working on food prep and Troy waited anxiously on the porch.

A yellow Honda pulled around the corner down the street and rolled to a stop in front of their house. The driver, a young woman with short brown hair, got out and stuck her sunglasses on top of her head. She looked at the porch and saw Troy. "Hey Troy!" she yelled, waving excitedly.

Troy waved back. "Hi Aunt Kelsey!" he called to her. A moment later, his Uncle Ryan Mitchell got out with a reusable shopping bag in his hands. He slung it over his shoulder and grinned up at his nephew. As they came up to him, Ryan gave Troy a quick hug. "How you doing, Troy?" he asked.

"Good," Troy replied. "Food goes inside. Guys are out back."

Ryan turned to Kelsey and handed her the bag. "Here you go, honey," he told her.

Kelsey raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. "Really?" she demanded.

Ryan looked at Troy. "Guess not," he said, taking the bag back and disappearing into the house. They heard a squeal as Ryan met his older sister in the kitchen. Kelsey threw an arm around Troy and laughed. "So how's school going?" she asked him.

Before Troy could answer, he spotted a blue Chevy Impala pulling in behind Kelsey. He looked at his aunt with a smile, as his former sensei and former Lightspeed Blue Ranger Chad Lee got out of the driver's seat. He was joined by Rachel, his wife, and the back doors opened as their two kids, Marina and Michael, climbed out. Marina and Michael were ten and twelve, respectively. They were both holding a twelve pack of soda. Michael looked up and saw Troy and Kelsey and waved, almost dropping the soda. Luckily, Chad was there to catch the backs of the cardboard containers before they hit the curb.

"Nice catch!" Kelsey yelled to Chad, and Chad winked. He ushered the kids up the stairs before giving Kelsey a hug. Rachel gave Troy a hug.

"Good to see you, Troy," Rachel said. "Where's your mom?"

Troy tossed a thumb backwards. "Inside. Food's inside t-oof!" He looked down to see Michael and Marina yanking on his arms. "Hey, guys. You should take those inside before you drop them and we have to chase soda down the street," he told them. Michael laughed and Rachel ushered them into the house. Kelsey followed them in.

Troy checked his watch. It was ten in the morning. Lunch had been set for twelve-thirty. He'd told Jake and Noah and the others to show up around noon.

As he debated whether or not to help out inside or go hang out in the back, a Chrysler 300 pulled in the driveway and then backed out, parking on the opposite side of the street. The man who got out wore a baseball cap from the Mariner Bay Fire Department, a loud Hawaiian shirt, jeans and sneakers. Troy got up from the porch and met his Grandpa Bill Mitchell at the end of the driveway, suffocating him in a hug.

"Wow," Bill said when Troy let go. "What a welcome."

"Hi, Grandpa," Troy said. "I missed you."

"That's mutual, kiddo," Bill assured him. He looked at Troy critically. "You got taller."

"You got shorter," Troy teased back. "Um, Dad and Grandpa Tom and Uncle Ryan and Sensei Lee are in the backyard, and all the girls are in the house."

"I think I'll go hide in the back before I get put to work," Bill decided. He put an arm around Troy and they walked up to the house together. "So, your mom and dad tell me you're keeping busy," he said quietly. Troy looked up at him. Bill winked, and Troy chuckled.

"Hey Captain Mitchell!"

Troy and Bill turned to see three more familiar faces coming up the sidewalk from a green Chrysler convertible. "Hi Uncle Joel!" Troy called down as Joel, Angela and Anton Rawlings came up the sidewalk. Joel was wearing his trademark Sky Cowboy hat from his air show days. He still performed occasionally, but his son kept him firmly on the ground, for the most part. Anton was a freshman in college. Troy was surprised to see him.

"Hey, Anton," Troy said. Anton was his closest 'cousin' in age.

"Hi Troy," Anton said. Anton was taking after his father, tall, with brown eyes and an affinity for the color green. "Been awhile," he said.

"Yeah it has," Troy agreed. "How's San Diego State?"

Anton grinned. "Not bad. Weather's nice, and the scenery is _very_ pretty." Troy grinned. It was obvious he wasn't talking about the beach and the bay.

Angela Rawlings hit her son in the shoulder. "Seriously?" she said. "I did _not_ need two of you in the family."

"Chip off the old block," Bill muttered to Troy.

"Some things never change," Troy grinned. He came down the stairs. "Let's go around back. My friends should be getting here soon so you can meet them."

"Any cute ones?" Anton asked.

Troy through about Emma. "Maybe," he said. "No flirting."

"Oh come on, cousin, that's not fair," Anton said. He followed Troy around to the backyard, where the party was already in full swing. Troy stopped at the edge of the house, looking at his family. It was good to have everybody together. Anton left Troy and went to talk to Chad and Joel. A few moments later, all the women came outside, their arms full of paper plates and cups and chip bags. Uncle Ryan and Carter were setting up the folding tables, and Troy grabbed a handful of the collapsible chairs and started setting them up. Aunt Kelsey was right behind him, putting down colorful tablecloths. Troy saw his mom hand a string of paper lantern lights to Chad and Joel. "Think you guys can handle this?" she asked them.

"No way!" Carter yelled. "Remember Ryan's 21st birthday?" he reminded her.

Dana bit her lip. "Good point. Kelsey and Angela, you guys are in charge of these," she said, taking the lights back and giving them to her two best friends.

"First round's ready!" Bill announced from the grill. He and Tom started pulling meat off the grill and putting them onto the serving trays. He looked out at his grandson. "Where're your friends?" he asked.

Troy heard laughing from the front yard. "They're here!" he said excitedly, and jogged around the side of the house. Sure enough, the Megaforce team was standing on the lawn. Jake was in a pair of black board shorts and a black cutoff tank. Emma wore her favorite pink Daisy Duke shorts and a plain white t-shirt. Gia was wearing skinny jeans and a yellow tank and Noah wore jeans and a blue flannel. Troy waved. "Hi, guys. Come on back!"

Nobody moved. Troy grinned. "Oh come on, you guys. They're just people."

"Yeah," Jake muttered. "Power Ranger people."

"Not all of them," Troy corrected. "My dad's parents and Uncle Chad's wife and their kids and….you know what, they're all fine and they all know about Rangers so….you're fine. Let's go. Otherwise my cousin Anton will eat all the food." He smiled at Emma. "Seriously, it'll be fine," he encouraged.

"Let's go," Gia said after a moment, and Troy gave a grateful smile to his _de facto_ second in command as Jake instantly followed Gia and Emma was right behind her.

Dana and Carter met them at the corner of the house. "Thought we heard people," Dana said. She smiled at them. "It's nice to see all you guys again. Sorry we had to skip out on our frozen yogurt date."

"We were um….busy," Noah told her and Dana grinned.

"Well, hopefully giant alien insects won't spoil the next one," Carter kidded. "Come on back, guys, there's plenty of food." He put a hand on Noah's back and ushered him around the corner.

There wasn't even a break in the festivities as the Megaforce teens joined the rest of the group. Troy introduced Noah and Jake to Anton, and Dana pushed the girls toward Kelsey and the other women. The only moment was when Noah stepped up to get a burger from Bill Mitchell. Troy was behind him in line. "Grandpa Bill, this is Noah," Troy introduced his friend. "Noah, this is-"

"You're Bill Mitchell. Head of the Lightspeed Project," Noah said instantly. He held a hand out, almost dropping his plate. "It's an honor, sir."

Bill looked at Troy, all serious. "This is the blue ranger?" he asked his grandson. Troy nodded. "I see," Bill continued. He turned his gaze to Noah. "Son, for the sake of everyone here, we won't mention that little… _incident_ in your background check."

Noah's jaw dropped. The yard had gone silent, the Lightspeed rangers all exchanging hidden grins. "Wha-what incident?" Noah stammered.

Bill Mitchell burst out laughing. Troy clapped his friend on the shoulder. Noah turned, confused. "He's messing with you, man," Troy told him. "Grandpa Bill thinks he's funny."

"I don't think," Bill corrected with a chuckle. "I _know_."

"Dad!" Dana yelled at him from across the yard. "Quit messing with them!"

Noah looked relieved. He accepted his burger from Bill and continued on. Troy gave his grandpa a high five. Bill left Jake and Gia alone, but he didn't miss the look his grandson gave the young woman in pink as she sat down on the grass next to Michael and Marina-or that he eschewed sitting with Ryan and Carter and the boys to go sit on the lawn with her.


	16. Defending a Legacy

The rest of the afternoon went without a hitch. Troy was thankful no alien invaders decided to interrupt the great day. Uncle Joel told tall tales of Lightspeed, with Angela correcting him every chance she got. Anton attempted to flirt with Gia but was shut down in no uncertain terms at a Look from Jake. Ryan, Carter, Joel, Chad, Troy, Noah, Jake and Anton got into a game of ultimate Frisbee while Emma took photos and Kelsey, Rachel and Grandma Lisa gushed over her talent.

Troy did his best to fill in his team on his family. How Grandpa Tom & Lisa had another son who was engaged and attending Sacramento State for his master's. How Bill Mitchell was still running Lightspeed, just with a different mission-more scientific discoveries and less to do with the Morphing Grid. Kelsey had climbed Half Dome in Yosemite National Park and was training for an ascent of Denali in Alaska. Ryan was the security officer at Lightspeed, having finally accepted the job from his father. Angela Rawlings was still working at Lightspeed as the head of the science division and Joel was flying in air shows around the state when he wasn't giving lessons. Anton was going to San Diego State. Chad Lee managed a dojo with his wife Rachel, who had quit working at the Marine Park to manage the business end of their dojo. Their two kids attended school in Mariner Bay.

No mention was brought up of the current attacks or aliens. Everybody present realized what a precious moment in time this get together was and that there may not be others like it in the future. Around five, people started dishing into the leftovers and Dana plugged in the lights on the deck and lit the tiki torches they'd brought with them from their house in Mariner Bay. A comfortable quiet atmosphere fell of the backyard.

Grandpa Tom and Grandma Lisa left early, both expressing what a pleasure it was to have met Troy's new friends (and confiding they were happy he finally had some). Anton volunteered to take Michael and Marina into the house to find something quiet to do (in hopes they'd crash so they'd sleep on the two-hour drive back to Mariner Bay). Which left the Lightspeed Rangers, Bill Mitchell, Angela Rawlings and Rachel Lee in the backyard with the Megaforce team.

"From what I've seen today," Bill Mitchell began, looking at the group, "the Earth is in fine hands with you guys."

The five Megaforce Rangers exchanged looks.

"You're part of a big legacy, you guys," Kelsey told them, and Ryan slipped an arm around her. "And you're handling it just fine. People talk. They all say the same thing-they're glad the Power is in your hands."

"Why couldn't the other Rangers just come help us, and get rid of them once and for all?" Jake asked finally. He was sitting next to Gia on the porch steps. "It'd be nice to not have to worry if I'm going to die every day."

The six Lightspeed Rangers looked around. "Mostly because you've got it well in hand," Chad said finally. "I promise you that if it ever got to be too much, you'd have help coming out of your ears."

"Every team has to face their challenge," Joel told them. "There were active teams when we were fighting Diabolico and Queen Bansheera too, but it wasn't their fight. It was ours."

"But didn't you ever want to just be…normal?" The question came from Emma, and Troy glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

Dana nodded, leaning into Carter. "Oh Lord, all the time," she told Emma with a smile. "You'd have to be crazy if this is all you ever wanted to do. There was one thing I realized when I was a Power Ranger though, and that's being a Ranger makes you appreciate what you've got. So little moments like this-" she waved a hand around the yard- " _normal_ moments," she added with a nod to Emma, "are even more precious. Makes you realize what you're fighting for."

"Whether you like it or not," Carter added, "you were chosen. This is your _job_. It's yours and nobody else's. And whoever chose you for this must have known you were up to the challenge."

Jake raised his hand. "That was a, um, giant tiki head on a cave wall."

Joel's jaw dropped. "Dude, _seriously_?"

"He said he was a student of someone named Zordon," Gia added.

Bill Mitchell and Angela Rawlings looked at Gia in surprise.

"What?" Troy asked.

Bill Mitchell shook his head, then spoke. "Zordon of Eltar created the very first team of Power Rangers on Earth. If your mentor is a student of his…" He looked at Carter. "This is big."

There was a moment of silence. Then, Troy broke it by saying, "That would explain the dreams I've been having."

"Troy?" his mother asked, at the same time Emma asked, "What dreams?"

Troy looked around the porch. Everyone was staring at him. His parents looked very confused, and so did his team. "Ever since we moved to Harwood, I've been having these weird dreams," Troy began. He leaned back against the rail. "A bunch of Ranger teams…all of them fighting together." He looked at Gia and the others. "All the teams that are on the walls at the command center are all there."

"What are you fighting?" Carter asked his son.

Troy shook his head. "I never see that part. Just a lot of fighting."

Carter glanced worriedly at his wife. "What do you think it means?" he asked Troy, not taking his eyes off Dana.

Troy shrugged. "I dunno," he said. "But I've been having that dream at least once or twice a week, ever since we left Mariner Bay." He looked at his grandfather. "It kind of freaks me out," he admitted.

"No kidding," Jake mumbled, shifting position.

"Don't ignore your dreams," Chad spoke up. Troy looked at his former sensei. "There's a reason for them," he continued. "You were chosen as the leader for this team, Troy, and that was no accident." He looked around at the rest of the Megaforce team. "You're all here, you're all Rangers, at this moment, for a reason. A very _big_ reason."

"What would that reason be?" Emma asked quietly.

Chad smiled at her. "You'll find out soon enough, I'd guess," he told her.

Silence fell around the yard. All anyone could hear was the sounds of the ocean, of traffic downtown, and the crickets chirping in the yard. Then, Joel stood up.

"On that note from Chad Lee and the Psychic Friends," he grinned, and easy laughter broke the silence, "I think we'd better head back," he told everyone. "We need to do this more often," he said, seriously. "I'm kinda missing everybody."

"Us too," Carter told his friend. "Two hours away feels like a whole state sometimes." He got up and hugged Joel and Angela. "Really good to see you guys," he stressed. "I'll walk you out."

The adults began saying their goodbyes. The Megaforce team got plenty of words of encouragement from Ryan and Kelsey and Bill before they left. Soon, it was just the Megaforce Rangers sitting out under the stars.

Troy stretched his legs out into the space that had been occupied by his Uncle Ryan. "Well, that went well," he drawled, and his team laughed.

"It's nice to have someone we can talk to about this whole thing," Gia said, waving an arm around at the four others. "I mean, I can't tell my mom any of this, she'd flip on me. She just assumes I've been doing a bunch of volunteer stuff after school."

"Yeah, and my dad thinks I'm getting extra soccer coaching," Jake added. He pointed into the house. "Your family is cool, Troy."

"Thanks, Jake," Troy replied. "Are you guys mad I didn't tell you guys about the dreams I was having?" He looked at them. "I know we promised no more secrets."

"Personally, I'm kinda wishing you _hadn't_ told us," Jake admitted. "'Cause whatever's in your dreams that it takes every Power Ranger ever to fight?" He shrugged. "Not something I want to meet."

"Me either," Noah backed him up.

"But whatever it is," Emma jumped in, and Gia nodded, "we can face it together." She grinned. "Earth's defenders never surrender."

"Ugh, I'm sorry I came up with that," Gia groaned, and everybody laughed. They were still laughing about it when Carter and Dana came outside to kick them all out.


	17. New Enemies, New Ally

October 1 dawned sunny and clear in Harwood. And Troy knew this because first period biology had been boarding the bus for a bio field trip out to the state park at what felt like dawn this morning. He and Noah passed the time by taking photos of Jake, who was practically drooling on the window as they drove into the park.

"Watch this," Gia whispered, kneeling on the seat she was sharing with Emma that was right in front of Jake. She pulled out a pencil and carefully leaned over Jake, trying not to hit him as the bus bounced down the road. She inched the eraser end of the pencil closer to his nose. Troy had his phone ready, the camera set to video, as Gia stuck the pencil in his nose, eraser end first.

The bus bounced, Jake woke up and he stared cross-eyed down his nose to see the pencil. "Hey!" he protested, as Gia ducked back into her seat and Troy and Noah burst out laughing.

"Remind me _not_ to ask for a pencil from you!" Troy teased his friend.

Jake studied the pencil. Then he leaned over the back of the seat to where the girls were sitting. "I believe this is _yours_ ," he said, tossing the pencil in Gia's lap.

"Ew!" Emma cried, sliding as far from Gia as she could.

Gia smoothly picked up the pencil and looked back at Jake. "How _exactly_ do you know it's _my_ pencil?" she asked him curiously.

Jake opened his mouth, then closed it. His ears turned pink and he slumped back into his seat as Gia and Emma started giggling.

* * *

The bus pulled off near a field labeled UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA TEST FIELD. Mr. Burley stood up and pushed his glasses up his nose. "All right, class, everybody out!" he called. The students all filed off the bus and stepped out into the field, chatting and yawning. "Okay class, find a study buddy to partner with!" he yelled out over the twenty students. "Your assignment today will be to collect interesting plant samples so we can bring them back to school for analysis." He made a shooing motion with his hands. "Away you go. Remember, keep your eyes peeled. If you don't watch where you're going, you might miss something important."

Noah linked arms with Emma, who was standing next to him. "Shall we?" Noah teased.

"Shall we, indeed," Emma teased back. Then she grinned, pointing. "Look."

They watched as Jake tried to thread his way through all the kids, heading straight for Gia. Except Gia was already with Troy. "Uh oh," Noah muttered, as he noticed that Jake saw who Gia's partner was…and he didn't look happy.

"Don't worry about it," Emma told him, seeing what had him so worried. "Seriously. I think Gia likes Jake too, she's just waiting for him to make a move." She pointed. "Let's go into the trees a little. Sometimes there's cool stuff that needs shade and dampness to grow."

"You're the expert," Noah agreed, following her into the trees.

"Thanks for being my partner," Gia told Troy as they sat down cross-legged in the tall grass next to a bright yellow flower.

"No problem," Troy shrugged, starting to carefully dig around its base. "But I gotta ask….why'd you pick me over Jake?"

Gia was silent. "Gia?" Troy pressed. "Look, if you and Jake aren't getting along, I kinda need to know. I don't want to affect us fighting against the Insectoids." Just then, he happened to look up and see Jake staring at them. He could practically see the steam rising from Jake's ears. And then it clicked.

"Oh," he said. "You're using me to make him jealous."

Gia blinked. "I-what? No, Troy, that's not it."

Troy gestured with his eyes over his shoulder. "Kinda looks like it," he told her.

"I-" Gia dropped her head to her hands, letting them rest on her knees. "Sorry."

"It's cool, I guess," Troy carefully held up the uprooted flower. "If it helps, I think he likes you too," he offered.

"Ya think?" Gia sighed, and Troy chuckled. "If he'd come right out and ask me out, I'd say yes," Gia admitted. "But he keeps dancing around the whole thing and making jokes."

"Hey, it's not easy for us to just ask you guys," Troy defended his gender. "You guys have a lot of power," he added. "You could make an effort too," he told her. "At least he might get the hint that you like him back."

"How'd you get so good at relationship advice?" Gia asked him.

Troy set the plant in their bucket. "That's the first advice I've ever offered," he said.

"Well, maybe I can offer some back," Gia said. "Let's talk about you and Emma."

A piercing scream filled the air, saving Troy from a response. He and Gia were on their feet in an instant. A crowd was starting to gather across the field, and they gathered their supplies and jogged over. They were standing over what looked like a gopher mound…which had been trampled flat. Two giant footprints were sunk an inch deep into the dirt.

"What the-?" Troy heard Jake start.

Mr. Burley came up to the group. He looked down at the footprints and gasped audibly. "Great Caesar! Bigfoot was here!"

"Bigfoot?" Troy looked at their teacher, knowing he had an affinity for cryptozoology and strange monsters like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. Burley's eyes were wide. Before Troy could say anything else, Burley was starting to push them-literally-back toward the bus. "Field trip is over. Time to go."

Noah and Emma joined them, and Troy saw a covered sample jar in Noah's hands. "Bigfoot?" Noah said excitedly.

"Nah, must be some kind of hoax," Jake cut in. He looked around at the rangers. "He's not _real_ ," he stressed.

"Neither were aliens," Gia pointed out, and Jake didn't have a response.

* * *

Back at the high school, the rangers crowded into the science lab during lunch. Noah had the sample jar he and Emma had collected and Emma was telling them about the abandoned waste plant near the test field. Noah took a pipette and collected some of the stream water they'd gotten, then put a daub of it on the slide. He covered it and then slid it under the microscope.

He wrinkled his nose. "You don't need a science degree to see there's something way wrong with this water," he frowned.

"These people didn't care about the environment at all. They shut the factory down, but didn't bother to do a cleanup," Emma raged. She looked around. Gia had disappeared from the room, and Jake and Troy looked like their minds were elsewhere. "Apparently, you guys don't care either," she accused.

Troy looked up at her from his place next to Noah. "Right now… I'm more concerned about that footprint," he admitted.

"Dude, there's no such thing as Bigfoot," Jake reminded him.

"Or aliens," Troy echoed Gia from earlier.

"I knew it, there are definitely toxic chemicals in this sample," Noah announced. He looked at Emma. "We might want to wash our hands pretty good, I don't think we got anything on us, but probably best not to eat anything til we give them a good scrub."

"How about the rest of us?" Troy asked. "Anything airborne we should worry about?"

"Nah," Noah said. "You, Jake and Gia should be fine."

"Speaking of Gia…where'd she go?" Jake asked, noticing the yellow ranger's absence.

"Probably to the cafeteria to grab something to eat," Emma offered.

Jake stood up, stuffing his soccer ball into his backpack. "That's a great idea. That's where I'm headed. Later." He disappeared out the door.

"What was that all about?" Noah asked, looking at Troy and Emma.

"Making a move," Troy said, and Emma smiled at him.

There was an urgent beeping from their backpacks. Troy unzipped his front pocket and yanked out his morpher. "Go ahead, Gosei," he said.

" _Rangers!"_ Tensou's tinny voice called through the communicator. " _There's a monster at the community college campus! I'm sending you its location!"_

"Time to go," Noah said, as he hurriedly put their equipment away and shouldered his backpack. The three of them walked out of the lab and down the hall, past a very unhappy Jake, who groaned and followed along with them. Once they were out of the school building and in the alley, they morphed and teleported to the community college campus.

Which was completely silent. "Today's an assessment day," Noah noted. "There's nobody here."

"No kidding. Where's the monster?" Jake wondered, looking around.

"Gosei's GPS is seriously off," Gia groaned.

"I don't like this…last time this happened we had to fight Creepox…." Emma trailed off.

"Creepox is gone," Troy told her reassuringly. "And we're all here now. Let's take a look around."

"We could cover more ground if we split up," Noah suggested, his Shark Bowgun at the ready.

Troy gave him a thumbs up. "I agree. Let's split up and take a look around. Noah, you tell us where to go. I'm betting you know the campus better than everybody."

"His name's been on their record books since birth," Jake teased.

Noah assigned them different areas to look in. After a good ten minutes of searching, Troy was beginning to wonder if Gosei and Tensou had mistook October 1 for April 1 and were messing with them. "I don't see anything weird…do you?" he asked Jake, who had met him under the covered walkway leading from the Humanities building to the Student Union.

He heard the light crunch of gravel just before something burst out of a decorative display just beside him. A snarling monster that vaguely looked like a snake with legs, gray and light blue and plain-old creepy.

Jake smirked. "Uh, yeah," he said, pointing to the snake. "That's pretty creepy."

"That's not an insect," Noah said as he arrived next to them. "That doesn't look like one of the Insectoids' guys at all."

"It's time to destroy humans," the monster hissed.

"Back off," Troy hissed back. "You're not destroying anyone." Gia and Emma joined them and they formed a defensive line.

"Your species has had its day. My venom will destroy you where you stand."

"Definitely _not_ an Insectoid," Noah affirmed.

"Then what the hell _is_ it?"

"You puny humans think you can stop us? Mutants are unstoppable!"

"Mutants?" Jake looked at Noah. "Does Burley have _those_ on his board?"

"They probably came from the chemical plant!" Emma realized.

Two more big monsters appeared. One was a giant blue thing with a double-headed club. It reminded Troy of the old episodes of "American Gladiators" he'd seen. The other was a big, hideous, light purple and blue and white…blob.

The blue monster glared at them. "I'll stomp you all into dust!" To emphasize the point, he slammed one of his size eighteen feet into the ground. He left a giant footprint.

"Bigfoot?" Gia's jaw dropped.

"No way!" Jake protested. "You gotta be kidding me! Burley was _right_!"

The blobby monster pointed at the rangers. "You closed down the factory but never cleaned up the chemicals. You had a chance to clean up your mess, but did you? Nooo! No human lifted a finger to make things right! We've joined forces with the bugs and Vrak to take you out!"

"Oh….crap," Troy muttered. "This isn't good."

"You brought this upon yourselves!" the blue monster agreed.

"You won't get past us!" Jake yelled at them, trying to sound more confident than he was.

The blob turned to the giant snake. "Hisser, get them!"

The giant snake ripped through their line. Noah was the first to recover, throwing a spinning kick at it. "I've got this one!" he told them.

"We'll take the big blobby one," Troy decided, looking at Emma. She nodded at him. "Let's do it!"

"That leaves Bigfoot." Jake frowned. "I can't believe I just said that."

"He's real, he's standing in front of you, shut up and fight him!" Gia yelled at him.

"Dragon Sword!" Troy called his weapon forward and took a few well-placed swings, with Emma standing behind the blob with her Phoenix Shot to keep it from running away. He ducked under the blob's arm and stuck the tip of his sword where its kidneys might have been. The sword bounced backwards, like Troy had a rubber band stuck to it. Whatever the blob was made of, the sword didn't even make a dent. It was like hitting Jello.

"Try to keep up!" the blob teased Troy. Troy growled and swung at it again, but this time, the force behind the blow sent him reeling backwards. He landed unceremoniously on his rear end.

"I'll bump you off!" Blob said gleefully.

Emma had had enough. She fired on the blob. "Phoenix Shot!" The energy slammed into the blob, then ricocheted back at her, knocking her into Troy, who had just stood up and sent them flying backwards into the brick of the building nearby.

"They're much weaker than I expected," the big blue mutant mused.

"No, it's just that we're that much stronger!" Blob fired back. "You thoughtless humans have been making us more powerful with your pollution for years!"

As if to prove the point, Hisser opened his mouth and spewed some kind of toxic brown sludge at the Rangers. It clung to their uniforms and smelled awful. Troy could feel heat emanating from it. "It's trying to eat through the suit!"

"This stuff is nasty!" Jake yelled, trying to brush it off. It stuck like glue.

"I can't move!" Noah called out. He dropped to one knee next to Troy, who was on his hands and knees as the sludge threatened to eat through his suit.

"Once you're gone, we'll start the _real_ fun….how does breaking open all the chemical tanks in the city sound?" the blue furred mutant taunted them. The three mutants watched as the Rangers dropped to the pavement. The suits were holding. Smoke and steam started to rise from the material.

"They're more resilient than I expected," Blue fur said.

"Maybe a ball of toxic fire will change that?" A purple glow shone from the center of his chest. Troy could only watch helplessly as the purple energy surged forward, dropping he and his teammates to the sidewalk. All five Rangers were kicked out of morph. Mercifully, the burst of energy took the sludge with it, but Troy's arms were red from contact burns and he could see ugly red patches on Emma's legs below her shorts and Jake's hands.

"Emma…are you all right?" Troy gasped out.

She barely managed to raise her head to look at him. "N-Not really," she admitted.

They heard an obnoxious hissing sound. Hisser was laughing at them. As he opened his mouth to deliver more toxic slime their direction, Troy tried to crawl over in front of Emma, but he knew he'd never get there in time...


	18. Concern and Doubt

A bright gold ball of energy flew past them, knocking the three mutants sideways. "W-What was that?" Gia whispered, trying to get to her knees.

In front of them stood a seven-foot tall silver robot with red eyes. He was holding some kind of laser pistol and aiming at the mutants.

"Who is that?" Jake wondered.

" _What_ is that?" Noah corrected.

Troy noticed a symbol in the center of the robot's forehead. A familiar-looking tiki mask. "That looks l-like Gosei," he said. "Look!"

The silver robot took a step forward toward the mutants, pistol at the ready. In a mechanical monotone he said, "Stand down mutants. You will only get one warning. I am Robo Knight. Guardian of Earth."

"Robo-what?" Emma asked. Troy had crawled over to her and helped her lean on him.

"Maybe….maybe Gosei made him too?" Troy wondered aloud.

The five rangers watched Gosei curiously. It was all they could do-none of them had the energy to stand. "You use noxious chemicals to harm this planet," Robo Knight as saying. "You must be stopped."

He fired on Hisser, showering the snarling snake with bolts of blue energy.

"If he's on our side, hopefully he can take these mutants out!" Gia said, watching Robo Knight go after the Blob and Bluefur. But the two of them had apparently decided the mechanical defender was more than a match for them. They turned tail and ran, but not before Bluefur yelled back to them, "The next time we meet, prepare to be destroyed, humans!"

"That's what they a-all say," Jake grimaced.

Hisser drilled into the pavement. Troy watched as the cement buckled as the snake tunneled toward Robo Knight, trying to attack from underground. "Advance no further. Return to surface." Robo Knight turned his pistol to the ground at his feet and fired. The snake popped out of the ground and plowed straight into the robot. Robo Knight disappeared in a fiery blast.

"Oh, crap," Troy muttered. Their new ally hadn't been enough to stop this new threat. Without the robot there to take his attention away from them, Hisser would turn on them next, and he didn't have the energy to morph again.

"Looks like my spin move destroyed you, Metal Man," Hisser gloated.

A mechanical voice intoned, "Negative."

"What?!" Hisser turned, and Troy cheered inwardly, as Robo Knight advanced through the smoke.

"It is time to neutralize you." Robo Knight pulled out a power card from his belt and punched it into his pistol. "Vulcan cannon, activate."

"He used power cards like ours," Gia said. She looked at Troy. "I think you're right…Gosei must have created him."

"That would've been useful information about two months ago," Jake muttered.

"I wonder why he never told us about him," Noah wondered.

Troy heard a high pitched tone and watched Robo Knight's cannon start to glow. "Applying maximum force," the robot said. "Fire." A bolt of blue lightning and flame erupted from the cannon, and Hisser exploded in a burst.

Robo Knight holstered his pistol. "Threat eliminated," he announced, as if he was announcing a floor stop in an elevator.

Jake glanced over at Troy. "Uh….what the heck just happened?" he asked.

Before Troy could offer a theory, they were shadowed by a giant snake towering over their heads. "He's back!" Emma exclaimed.

Gia sighed. "We should've expected that."

"You guys up to morphing?" Troy asked his team. He was met with a chorus of groans.

"Stay back. Mission in progress. Do not interfere." Robo Knight must have overhead them, because he shut down any thoughts of morphing as he held up one hand in their direction. "Lion Zord morph."

The five teens watched as the silver robot grew, then, in a burst of light, morphed into a giant silver and gold mechanical lion. "H-He turns _into_ his Zord?" Noah asked incredulously.

Emma tried to crane her head skyward to watch the ensuing Zord fight, but she dropped it back to the pavement. "I don't know what that stuff was but my body is killing me. "It's like I got the world's worst sunburn."

"Chemical burns," Noah said knowingly. "The cleaning solution at the science lab would help," he said. "I just don't know if we can get there."

Troy reached gingerly into his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell phone, grimacing as his finger slid against the material of his jeans. "I think I can fix that," he said, punching the speed dial for his father.

The Rangers watched as Robo Knight made short work of Hisser. As the fallout from the explosion destroying Hisser fell nearby, Robo Knight returned to his normal-sized, humanoid self. By this time, Troy and the others had managed to work themselves into a sitting position. The robot stood in front of them.

"Who are you, and why didn't Gosei tell us about you?" Emma demanded.

"We want to know about you," Troy tried to be diplomatic.

Robo Knight turned on his mechanical heel and walked away. "Seriously?" Jake yelled at him.

"I think we need to have a chat with Gosei," Troy said. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. "I sure hope Dad gets here soon…"

* * *

The truck skidded to a stop on the campus of Harwood Community College. Carter Grayson jumped out of the driver's seat and left it running. He looked around in a panic, until he saw what he was looking for. "Troy!" he yelled, running over to his son and his team.

The five teens were leaning against a wall like they were propping it up. "Hey, Dad," Troy said weakly. Carter watched his son try to stand, only to collapse against the wall again.

"What the hell happened?" Carter asked as he put an arm around Troy and heard him cry out in pain. He carefully walked his son over to the truck and opened the cab door and gingerly helped Troy inside.

He turned to pick up Gia and walk her over to the truck. "We're screwed," Gia said quietly as Carter helped her sit next to Troy.

"Can you take us to the school?" Noah asked Carter as Carter helped him to the truck. "We need to shower and treat these burns."

Carter shook his head as Noah slid in next to Gia in the backseat. "I'm not helping you break into the school. There's another option." He helped Emma to her feet.

"What's that?" Troy asked from the middle of the front seat. Carter closed the cab door and helped Emma in next to Troy.

"Our house is free. We'll go to our place. We've got two bathrooms and the girls can borrow stuff from your mom." He slammed the passenger door and then ran over to the driver's side and got into the truck, throwing it into drive. "And then _someone_ can explain to me what the hell just happened with you guys."

* * *

Carter tried to drive carefully, but every bump, he heard cries of pain from the teenagers in the vehicle. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized every time they hit a bump in the road. He glanced at Troy in the backseat. His son's neck and face were blotchy red, like he'd been out in the sun too long. His eyes were closed. "Hey, guys, stay with me. We're almost there," he said reassuringly. He saw Troy open one eye and manage half a smile, before closing his eyes again. Carter pulled into their driveway and drove into the garage, then helped the kids out. He directed Noah and Jake upstairs to the bathroom Troy used and helped the girls downstairs to the en suite he and Dana shared. He heard the water come on upstairs, and he rummaged in Dana's clothes and pulled out something loose- a couple of pairs of tear-away sweatpants and a couple of old Mariner Bay Fire Department t-shirts. He left Emma sitting on the bed with the clothes so Gia would know where they were when she came out.

Then, he went into the living room and paced. After a moment to calm himself down, he called his wife's office and left a message telling her to come home ASAP. He walked into the kitchen and filled up a few glasses of water.

He heard the water shut off upstairs and doors open and close. _At least they're still moving._ He remembered coming back from several battles as a ranger and being incredibly beat up and sore. A good shower and a lot of water helped. He only hoped the showers helped with the burns the kids had received.

Ten minutes later, he heard the front door slam open and heard Dana's heels in the entryway. "Carter?" she yelled.

"Living room," he said, and she stuck her head in the room.

"Where are the kids?" she asked urgently as she kicked her shoes off. They thudded hard against the wall.

He pointed down the hall and at the ceiling. "Showering. Trying to fix what look like chemical burns."

Dana nodded. "Are they okay apart from that?" She ran a hand through her hair, which was falling out of its normally tight bun.

Carter shook his head. "I don't know, Day. They look pretty rattled." He collapsed on the couch. "I thought it was hard being a ranger...it's a thousand times worse being a parent."

"And a ranger parent to boot," Dana agreed. She sat down next to him and he closed his eyes, feeling her hand slide into his.

"When I got that phone call from Troy..." Carter said, and he had to wait a beat before continuing, "I've never been so scared in my entire life."

"I know," Dana replied. She heard footfalls and looked up to see Troy gingerly making his way down the stairs. Carter did notice he was walking a little better. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Troy, honey," Dana said, standing up and meeting him at the door. "Are you okay?"

"Better," her son admitted. "Not great." He looked over as Emma came into the room from the hall. Her skin that he could see was still red, but there was a little more life in her eyes. "Emma. How are you feeling?"

"Okay," she responded. She looked at Dana and Carter. "Gia's crashed on your bed. I hope that's okay."

"No problem," Dana said reassuringly. "You're okay, Emma?"

Emma nodded. "Sore," she admitted. "But the suits helped take the most of it. Right now I feel like I just need sleep."

"I bet."

Carter had gone into the kitchen and returned with two glasses of water. He handed one to Troy and one to Emma. "Drink up, guys," he said. Emma took a sip and Dana watched the relief wash over her face. She looked at Troy and knew he'd seen it too. His whole body looked much more relaxed. "Um, Carter, maybe you should go check on the guys," she suggested. "I'm going to go see if I have enough food to feed five teenagers." She disappeared into the kitchen. Carter jogged up the stairs, leaving Emma and Troy both alone in the living room.

"How are the guys?" Emma asked Troy, gingerly making her way over to the couch.

"Okay, I think," Troy said. "I wouldn't be surprised if Noah passes out upstairs. I'm glad dad's going to check on them." He looked at her. "And you...you're really okay? You...you looked awfully rough back there."

She smiled. "I'm good," she said. "Good thing your dad came."

"You had me worried," Troy admitted.

"I wasn't," Emma replied. She reached over and put her hand on top of his. "I knew you'd have a plan."

At the word 'plan', Troy's eyes flashed. "Yeah," he said. "That reminds me. We need to have a talk with Gosei. I want to know why he had Robo Knight in his back pocket all this time and he's never bothered to use him."

"You think he'd hold out on us on purpose?" Emma asked.

Troy shook his head. "I don't know. But there had better be a good explanation as to why he decided to put him in the game now."

* * *

After a couple of phone calls to the other rangers' parents to arrange a fake study date, Emma woke Gia up and Dana helped them dish out spaghetti. As they ate, Troy relayed his thought about talking to Gosei to the others.

"Might explain why they keep sending us places and there's no monster to be seen," Jake nodded. He chewed the last of the bite in his mouth and gave Dana a thumbs-up. "Awesome pasta, Mrs. Burrows."

"Grayson," Dana corrected him gently. "And I'm glad you like it."

"Your mentor sounds like a helluva guy," Carter said. "I'm not sure I like him being in charge of you guys. He doesn't sound real helpful."

"Well we can't all get Grandpa Mitchell," Troy shrugged. "I dunno, I mean, he's given us help when we ask for it, but I feel like we're really in the dark about everything else."

"Why do you think the Insectoids are bringing mutants into the picture?" Gia wondered, changing the subject.

"Because you're scaring them," Dana told her. She twirled some noodles on her fork. "You guys have managed to take down everything they're thrown at you so far. You're putting up more of a resistance than they were expecting."

"They're bringing in reinforcements because you are winning," Carter added. He looked around the table at the young faces surrounding him. "Don't forget that. Even on days like today, when you're feeling low, just remember that you _are_ winning the battles."

"Let's just hope we win the war," Troy said.

Noah pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Hey, you're ruining the moment," he told Troy, and Troy responded by tossing a meatball at him.

A few hours later, the food seemed to have help. Dana observed the kids were looking and feeling a lot better. "You guys better get home before your parents start to worry."

Noah sighed. "Yeah, and we'll have to think of something to explain why we left school in the middle of the day," he told the others. "We missed afternoon classes 'cause of the mutants."

"You'll think of something," Carter reassured them. "Come on, I'll give you guys a ride home and you can brainstorm." The five rangers loaded into the truck again and Carter gave them all lifts home. Pretty soon, it was only Emma and Troy left, and Carter pulled up outside the apartment building where Emma lived. "I'll walk you up," Troy said, hopping out of the car and going to open her door. Carter watched the two of them illuminated in the headlights as they made their way toward the building.

He chuckled. "Smooth, kiddo. Very smooth."


	19. A Matter of Trust

"Hi guys!" Tensou chirped as the five teens came into the command center a few days later. They had recovered physically from the attack by the mutants and the Insectoids, but were still hurting mentally and emotionally. Despite the pep talk from Troy's mom and dad, they'd been dealt a blow of mistrust. Gosei had kept secrets from them. The Insectoids had new allies.

And now, they were here to find out just what the hell Gosei knew.

Tensou wheeled back in surprise as the rangers ignored him and crowded Gosei. Tensou could read their bioscans. The kids were _angry_. Worriedly, Tensou rolled to the back of the room, wisely deducing that it was best to get out of the way for the moment.

"When were you going to tell us about Robo Knight?" Jake demanded.

Troy looked at his black ranger. "So much for being diplomatic," he muttered. But he too looked up at Gosei. "Why didn't you tell us about him, Gosei?" he asked their mentor.

Gosei was silent, and Troy fumed. "How do we know if we can trust you if you keep secrets from us?" he asked.

Another moment, and Gia threw her hands in the air. "Let's just go, guys." She turned to leave.

"I created Robo Knight centuries ago," Gosei's voice echoed into the silence. Gia turned back to face him. Emma gave her hand a squeeze. "The mutants that you encountered are just the most recent in a long line. Robo Knight destroyed others many, many years ago. He was created to protect the Earth."

"So why didn't you include him in your little quest against the Armada?" Noah asked.

"After the last of the mutants were destroyed…" Gosei paused, as if he was searching for the right words. "Robo Knight went into suspended animation."

"Until the human race started creating worse chemicals and creating more mutants," Emma guessed.

"He was asleep for so long. It is possible he does not remember that I created him. He has only one purpose-to destroy threats to Earth. It is possible that when Biggs and Bluefur attacked, it caused him to wake."

"He became aware of a threat and woke up to finish his mission?" Troy clarified. "Guy's got a one-track mind."

"It will be difficult to convince him that you are on the same side," Gosei told them. "But I have faith you can do it."

Troy looked around at his team. "Gosei, when we first became Rangers, we made a promise to each other. No secrets. We knew we couldn't trust each other if we were hiding things." He pointed to Gosei. "You're a part of this team. We need to know we can trust you."

"You can," Gosei told him, sounding sincere. The guy didn't have any facial expressions Troy could read, but his voice sounded appropriately apologetic.

"I hope so," Troy said. He looked at his team members. "Come on, guys. Let's go." He led them out of the room, stopping to pat Tensou on the head to let him know it was okay. He felt the robot hum under his fingers in relief.

"I don't trust that guy as far as I can throw him," Jake said as they left the command center, out into the trees of the state park.

"And considering he's bolted to a wall…." Gia pointed out. Jake nodded.

"Thank God it's Saturday," Noah said, shouldering his knapsack. "You guys have anything going on?"

"I need a new memory card for my camera," Emma said. "I want to make sure there's plenty of room in my camera for the Leonid meteor shower in a few weeks," she explained. She grinned, a little embarrassed. "Honestly, I've never taken pictures during a meteor shower before and so there needs to be a lot of room, in case I screw up."

"You won't," Troy told her. "I've seen your pictures. Even the bad ones are still a thousand times more amazing than what I could take."

"Well," Gia said, cutting into the conversation, "I think we're gonna go study for that English test on Monday." She grabbed the strings of Jake's hooded sweatshirt.

"What English-?" Gia elbowed Jake, effectively interrupting. Jake coughed. "Oh. Yeah. English. Okay. Yeah, we should go." He looked at Noah. "Come on Noah, you can help us." He grabbed Noah's strap on his bag and pulled him away.

Troy looked over at Emma, who was bright red. "What just happened?" he asked, confused.

Emma shook her head. "They don't even have the same English," she told him. "That was Gia's not-so-subtle attempt at getting us together alone."

"Oh." Troy felt his own ears get warm. "Uhm. So. You have to go to the mall to get your memory card, right?" When Emma nodded, he plunged ahead. "You want some help? And maybe after that…we could go grab a burger?"

"Sure." Emma smiled. "After you," she said, gesturing forward. Troy walked until he was even with her, then, he grabbed her hand and the two of them walked down to where their bikes were waiting at the bottom of the hill.

During the ride to the mall, they talked a little bit about Robo Knight. Emma gave him points for at least fighting the bad guys, rather than trying to take out the Rangers. "He's on our side," she said. Then, she grinned. "Well, sort of."

"You always see the good in everybody," Troy told her. "It's a nice way to see the world."

"It's better than seeing all the bad stuff," Emma shrugged. "Makes for better dreams at night."

They put their bikes in the small rack outside the mall's main entrance in town, and Troy followed Emma through the crowd of weekend shoppers. Emma knew exactly where she was going. She threaded her way through the crowd, laser-straight, to Picture Perfect. Inside, the older woman working the counter greeted Emma by name. Emma found a card with a decent megabyte size and purchased it. As they walked up to the counter, Emma spotted a print of a gnarled tree-dark brown set out against a backdrop of bright green foliage. There were other trees out of focus in the background. Emma pointed to the signature in the corner. _Madison Rocca_. "I love her pictures," Emma said. "She also shoots documentaries. I saw a couple on the National Geographic channel." She sighed. "There's something really magical about her art."

Troy grinned. "I'll take your word for it," he admitted. "All I see is a tree."

Emma hit him in the arm, and Troy laughed. Emma paid for her memory card and the two of them walked out into the stores. "Pretty soon it'll be decorated for Christmas in here," Emma said. "Does your family do anything fun for the holidays?"

Troy shook his head. "Not really. When we lived back home, for Thanksgiving, some of the relatives would come over for the day and we'd watch the parade and football and eat and stuff." He shrugged. "Now that we're here, I don't know if we'll go back or do Thanksgiving by ourselves or what."

"It must have been really hard to leave your family and friends in Mariner Bay, huh?" Emma asked. Troy had to think about it. He was kind of surprised this conversation had never come up before. The two of them found an empty bench and sat down. Troy studied his shoes.

"It was," he admitted after a moment. "I mean, I didn't have a whole lot of friends, just the ones from Uncle Chad's class, but I was really mad at my mom and dad for wanting to move." He shrugged. "Things were starting to go good," he explained. "I was getting along better with my mom and dad, and the guy that had been bullying me…I kind of beat him up one day after school. In self defense," he added quickly at Emma's look of disapproval. "He tried to push me into a wall and I fought back."

"Did you hurt him?" Emma asked him.

"Nah," Troy said. "Gave him the point that it wasn't going to be so easy to pick on me anymore though. He left me alone after that." He bit his lip. "Okay, enough about me. Tell me about your family," he urged.

"Oh." Emma scuffed her toe into the white tile floor. "Uh. Well. It's just me and my mom," she said. "My dad died when I was eleven."

"I'm sorry," Troy said instantly. "I can't believe we've known each other almost three months and this has never come up."

"We've been busy with other things," Emma told him. "Don't apologize. The others know about my parents, but we don't talk about it. Or at least, I don't. Too many bad memories I guess. Or _sad_ memories," she amended, when Troy got a very surprised look. "Dad was amazing. He was the one who got me my first camera-it was one of the Polaroid ones where the picture came out instantly. I must have plastered my walls with pictures of stuff when I was little." She laughed at the memory. "Most of it was stuff like my dolls and our cat."

"Very serious subject matter," Troy grinned and Emma blushed. "How'd you get so involved with conservation?" he asked, changing the subject.

Emma pointed across to the food court, where someone had left a tray of fast food lying on a table. "Stuff like that. People not picking up after themselves. We've only got one planet," she said, shaking her head. "But not for long if we keep screwing it up."

"Or if the Armada beats us," Troy said quietly.

"That will never happen," Emma said, slapping her hand in his. "Don't ever say that. Your mom and dad were right. We're winning. Or at least, we're breaking even. Maybe if we put up enough of a fight the Armada will decide they don't want us anymore." She winked. "We're too much trouble."

Troy smiled. "Power of positive thinking," he said, and Emma nodded firmly. "You're something else, Emma Goodall." He squeezed her hand. "All right, lunch time. Where are we going? I'm buying."

"I would hope so," Emma said, standing and pulling him to his feet. "It'd be a pretty lousy first date otherwise." She dragged him off the bench to a standing position.

"Wait," Troy said, stopping her. "This is a date?"

She grinned. "Of course it is!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Okay then," and allowed himself to be pulled toward the food court.

* * *

"Hey Mom, I'm home!" Troy yelled as he came through the front door. He dropped his shoes off and left his jacket hanging on the hook, and found his mom in the living room, feet propped on the coffee table. "How was your day?" he asked. "Or, night, I guess."

"Good," Dana replied with a smile. "Nothing major. Nice easy overnight."

"I still don't get why, if you're a pediatrician you gotta work nights," he said. "Kids are all sleeping."

"You're right," Dana smiled. "I've been helping out in the OB wing," she explained. "Did you have fun at the mall?" she asked him. "With Emma?"

Troy grinned. "Yeah, I did," he said.

Dana raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" she asked. "That's a good look on you, that smile," she said, pointing to him. "Must have been a fun date."

Troy walked into the kitchen. "Yeah," he said, still grinning. "It was."

* * *

Troy went to sleep easily that night, but his nightmare came back in full force.

_The battle raged on. Troy felt like he'd been fighting forever. All he could see stretching in front of him was a sea of metal robots and colored heroes. A yellow ranger screamed, and the sound wave blasted a whole group of the metal soldiers backwards. A green ranger in a cape raised his hands, and roots exploded from the ground, entangling and ensnaring a group of them._

_A blast of red laser fire blew past him so close he could feel the heat. He turned around and saw Robo Knight coming up behind him, blaster aimed._

He woke up so quickly the room spun and he had to remember where he was. He closed his eyes and let out a breath. He looked at the clock. 4:30 a.m. _Thank God it's Sunday_ , he thought as he rolled over again. He stared at his closet, wondering if he closed his eyes again if Robo Knight's fire would be aimed at him.

* * *

Monday morning, Troy walked into Mr. Burley's classroom to see the other four rangers in the back corner. Emma waved him over with a smile, then returned her focus to the conversation that Noah and Jake were having.

"He's reckless," Jake was arguing. Gia was sitting on a desk beside him, resting her head on her knees.

"He doesn't recognize Gosei's authority," Noah agreed.

"He'd make a nice addition to the team… _if_ we knew he wouldn't take us out!" Jake pounded a hand on the desk and the others nodded.

"What do _you_ think, Troy?" Gia asked, looking at him.

Troy sighed. "I had the dream again Sunday," he admitted. "He's there. In the big battle I keep seeing."

"Yeah, but is he fighting on our side?" Jake pressed.

The bell rang, and Troy shrugged out of his backpack. "I don't know, guys," he admitted. "I really don't." He moved to go sit down, and felt Emma squeeze his shoulder as she passed by to get to her seat in the front. It helped with the worry….a little, anyway.


	20. Wishes & Dreams

"I dunno what to do," Troy was telling his Uncle Ryan a few weeks later. "Even after we saved him, Robo Knight still doesn't want to fight with us."

Ryan propped his feet up on the porch railing and crossed his arms behind his head. He was enjoying a lazy afternoon with his nephew. Kelsey had come to Harwood to go shopping with Dana, and Carter was working. He turned his head sideways to look at Troy, who was sitting stretched out on the railing, his feet nearly touching his uncle's. At first, when Troy told him their latest ally was a robot, he'd laughed, but now, as Troy explained more of the last few days to him, Ryan wasn't laughing. Silence stretched between the two of them as Ryan thought about what to say.

"Seems like he thinks humans are the problem," he said finally. "It's not logical to his programming that you want to help the earth. In his mind, we spent the last few centuries or whatever screwing it up," he said.

Troy nodded. "For a minute, when he saw Jake and Gia helping him escape from the Prince, I thought for sure he'd realize that we're on the same side. But then he disappeared again."

"Prince?"

"His name's Vrak," Troy said, and shuddered. "He's leading the Armada. Ugly, smart, and hell-bent on conquering Earth. He thought he could reprogram Robo Knight to fight against us, but we saved him." He closed his eyes. "For all the good it seems to have done us."

"Why does having this guy on your team mean so much to you?" Ryan questioned.

Troy thought about it. "Well, he's strong. He's got a megazord we could use."

"So you want him for his firepower?"

"Partly," Troy admitted. "It's been months since the Armada decided to show up in our atmosphere and it doesn't seem like we've made any leeway. Even," he added, "if Mom and Dad claim we have."

"You're tired," Ryan offered, and Troy nodded.

"Extremely. I mean, I feel like if we'd made progress, we wouldn't need Robo Knight in the first place, and we wouldn't need this new power mode that we got-which is sweet, by the way. We call it Ultra Mode." Troy sighed. "I just want it to be over. I want to go back to getting up and going to school, hanging out with Emma…."

"Yeah speaking of," Ryan said, changing topics, "tell me more about this girl of yours." He grinned. "Your mom really likes her. She couldn't stop talking about her."

"Oh great, thanks Mom," Troy rolled his eyes. "Um, she's on the team, she's the pink Ranger. You met her at the barbecue."

"Well yeah, but that was about all I got," Ryan pointed out. "Seriously. You seem like you really like her."

Troy glared at his uncle, but couldn't help the smile that broke through. "She's great, Uncle Ryan, really," he said finally. "She's smart, and she's compassionate. She's got serious skills with a camera."

"She a good kisser?" Ryan asked, enjoying the fire truck red color his nephew's ears turned.

Troy didn't say anything. "I wouldn't know," he said. "I haven't kissed her yet."

"What?" Ryan sat up in surprise. "Why not?"

"I don't know," Troy shrugged. "Hasn't ever felt right, you know?"

Ryan thought back to his first kiss with his wife Kelsey, and nodded. "I get that," he said. He grinned. "You said there's that meteor shower this weekend right? You guys gonna watch it?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Unless it's cloudy."

"Okay, so….there's the perfect setting," Ryan proclaimed. "You and her, under the stars…"

"With four other people staring at us?" Troy wrinkled his nose. "No thanks."

"They'll be so busy looking up they won't see it," Ryan assured him. "Seriously, man, I'd go for it."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say," he told his uncle.

"And regarding the rest of this Robo Knight stuff," Ryan said, "for now, just be glad he's on your side. Show him how much more effective it is to fight as a team. He'll see your intentions are good and join the right side eventually." He chuckled wryly. "Take it from someone who knows what it's like to believe one thing and then be told it's all wrong. And as far as the rest of it goes, judging from past experience…eventually, this Armada is gonna get real tired of having their butts handed to them every time you fight 'em," he told Troy. "Keep fighting the good fight, kiddo."

Troy nodded thoughtfully. "Hey, I think there's mint chip ice cream in the house," he said. "You hungry?"

"It doesn't even have to be mint chip," Ryan grinned, standing. "Let's go check it out."

* * *

Fall in California meant the water was too cold to play in, but there were plenty of other things to keep the Rangers busy in the blessed spare time they had. It also meant several meteor showers headed the Earth's way. "Would it not be sweet if the meteors just took out the Armada?" Jake was saying as the five of them climbed out of Gia's new birthday present- a midnight black Jeep Patriot. They'd chipped in to pay admittance into the state park for the week and were planning on checking out spots to watch the meteor shower.

"We could be so lucky," Troy replied.

"They probably have anti-collision countermeasures," Noah sighed. "A simple meteor shower that appears annually wouldn't be a threat."

"And on that happy note," Gia laughed. "Come on guys, the sun's out, Gosei's not on the horn and we've got time to kill!" She grabbed Emma's arm and linked hers with her own. "Let's enjoy it while we got it!"

"I was thinking we should start with Jessup Point," Emma told the group. "It's not a big hike, and there's that big picnic area at the top. It would be a great place to start."

"You would know," Troy told her. "I say we go for it." Emma beamed at him, and he grinned back. The girls took off for the trailhead and the guys had to jog to keep up. The hike took less than ten minutes up a gentle slope to the top of a hill. At the top where it leveled out, the park service had mowed and clear cut until there was an open area for picnicking. "This is the perfect place to watch the meteor shower!" Noah enthused. "Good call, Emma."

Emma plopped down on the grass. Troy sat down next to her. Gia wandered over near the boundary fence to check out the view. "All those shooting stars," she grinned. I'm going to bring my wish list!" Emma said. She hugged her knees. "It's about four pages long."

"That's a lot of wishes," Troy said. "Why so many?"

"It's silly," Emma said quietly, suddenly self-conscious. "Whenever we saw a shooting star, my dad would tell me to make a wish…but I got so excited that I'd forget to wish! So…I started to write them all down." She gave Troy half a smile. "I kept going even after he died."

"Not a bad idea," Jake said as he sat down next to them. He looked over at Gia, leaning against the wooden fence. "Maybe I should write _my_ wish down."

Noah sat next to him and nudged him. "You know you have to say them out loud, right?" Noah reminded him.

Jake flushed. "I thought wishes were supposed to be _secret?_ " he protested.

"Not if you want 'em to come true," Troy said, punching him in the shoulder.

"Shut up!" Jake stood up so fast he almost fell over. Gia was coming back from the side of the hill. "I'll race you to Ernie's-last one there pays!" He took off down the trail.

"You better go get him," Emma told Troy, and Troy sighed.

"Yeah, I guess we should. Come on, Noah." Troy stood up and offered a hand to Noah. Troy waved to Emma and the two boys chased Jake down the hill.

Gia looked at Emma. "What'd I miss?"

"Everything and nothing," Emma said. "How do you feel about some fro-yo?"

Troy was way out of breath by the time he and Noah caught up with Jake. "Hey, man, slow down," Noah told him, speedwalking to catch up with his friend.

"Yeah, man, you took off so fast I'm not even sure the girls know where they're supposed to meet us," Troy said. "What's up?"

Jake stared straight ahead. "Like you don't know." Troy grabbed his arm and spun him around. Jake looked furious.

"Yeah, we know," Troy said. "Gia," he added. "It's not hard to figure out you like her, man. She as much told me so on our field trip. She likes you too."

"Yeah?" Jake glared. "So then how come she hasn't made a move?"

"That's not her job, man," Noah said. "We're the guy. This is what we do. Girls like a guy who would make the first move." He frowned. "Most of the time. Girls are complicated."

"I don't know how to act around her," Jake finally stopped running. "I don't know what to do. Everytime I'm around her, I get all tongue-tied and awkward."

"Awkward we've seen," Noah agreed. "Jake, you just need to be yourself, dude. You're trying too hard."

Jake looked at Troy, and Troy nodded. "Noah's right. You just need to relax."

"Doesn't seem to bother you with Emma at all," Jake told their leader.

"Well, considering that you guys practically forced us to the mall for our fist date…I'm still not the one who needs to relax," Troy shot back. "You guys aren't exactly subtle."

"But it worked, didn't it?" Jake countered.

"It's not the same thing, Jake." Noah grinned. "And actually," he turned to Troy. "That was mostly Gia. Not us."

"Whatever," Troy waved a hand. "You were there." He pointed. "If we catch the subway here we can make Ernie's, and we might beat the girls there."

* * *

"Guess the girls are buyin'!" Jake grinned as he glanced in the window of Ernie's Brain Freeze. Their usual table was unoccupied. "And we still beat them here."

Troy shook his head. "Jake, we can't let the girls buy. We're gentlemen."

"Yeah, especially if you want your wish to come true," Noah teased. Jake rolled his eyes but didn't bother with a comeback.

"Buying for the girls _would_ go a long way," Troy whispered to Jake. "Come on, man. Swallow your pride."

"Fine," Jake said. "I've got enough to cover for the girls, if you guys can get your own."

"Don't be silly," Noah teased. "Troy's buying for Emma."

Troy tapped his pocket. "Yup." But as they walked into the air conditioning, Troy stopped and burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Jake asked. Troy only shook his head, still laughing, and pointed. Sitting up at the counter were two familiar bodies-one in a black leather jacket, one in denim. Emma turned and Gia waved at them, both shaking a glass of water.

Jake's jaw dropped. "How?"

"You're fast on your feet, soccer star, but we did have four wheels," Emma grinned. She and Gia smiled at Jake, whose jaw was on the white tile floor. Troy and Noah were both trying not to laugh anymore to make him feel worse. "Anyway, we already ordered, and you can bring it over when it's ready. Oh…and the total was $11.50." She looked at Troy. "I decided to splurge a little," she shrugged. "We'll see you at our table!" She and Gia got up and brushed past them to go sit at their usual booth.

"I….don't believe this," Jake muttered.

Ernie came out of the back with a tray. Troy recognized them as strawberry-lemonade smoothies. "The ladies said to surprise them," Ernie said with a wink. "And that there were two nice young gentlemen coming in to purchase them." He eyes both of them, and both guys are super embarrassed. Before Troy could put his order in, he heard the tones of their morphers in his inside pocket.

"Aw, man," Noah grumbled. "I had to run all the way here, and I don't even get anything for it," he groused.

"Ernie, can we get those two to go?" Troy asked, throwing a twenty dollar bill on the counter. "Keep the change!" he yelled back as Jake grabbed the two desserts and the three of them made their way over to the girls. He handed one to Emma and one to Gia. "Hope you like them," Jake said. "Troy just left Ernie an eight dollar tip!"

"Well, we're here often enough," Emma said as they took off out the door and searched for the nearest exit.

" _And_ we run out often enough," Noah added.


	21. Dreams Come True

The park was eerily silent. Normally, on a weekend, the place was full of people, even with the chillier air temps. They walked for a few minutes, but didn't see anyone until they reached an area near the fountain. "Whoa," Noah breathed. The Blue Ranger pointed a gloved hand at a figure sprawled on the fountain's rim. One hand dangled in the water.

"What's happening?" Jake wondered, looking around. People were lying on the ground. They looked like they were sleeping. Noah gently shook the elderly woman who'd fallen on the fountain rim. She didn't stir. "I think they're unconscious," Noah told the team.

"What the heck are those?" Troy asked, pointing. Beneath a young girl, something was splayed out on the pavement. Noah stepped up closer to investigate. "Are those…roots?" Gia guessed.

"Let's ask that thing!" Noah was the first to spot the monster, a purple thing with a bullfighter-looking costume. It spotted them the same time Noah pointed.

"You must be the Rangers the Prince was telling me about." It had a completely cheesy Spanish accent.

"Where do these guys get these ideas of how we talk?" Gia muttered.

"What are you doing?" Noah yelled at it.

"Dining on the _useless_ dreams of these useless humans." The monster stepped forward menacingly. The rangers dropped into a fighting stance. "I am Dream Snatcher. I eat people's hopes and dreams. Their spirits are imprisoned in the Dream World. After their dreams are eaten, they grow roots of despair! They'll wither away!"

"We have to help them," Emma gasped desperately. She rounded on Dream Snatcher. "You think we'll let you take away people's dreams?" she yelled. She led the charge, flying toward Dream Snatcher with her Phoenix Shot outstretched.

"Emma, wait!" Troy called, front-flipping down to join her. The two of them attacked Dream Snatcher in unison. Troy kicked at his head while Emma swept below, aiming for his feet. He jumped over Emma's feet but Troy's foot connected with his midsection, staggering him back a few feet.

Jake waited until Emma and Troy were clear, then fired on him with his blaster. But the matador-looking monster pulled out a staff and knocked the bolts of energy away.

"I am so strong, you'll be tripping over the roots of all of humanity!" he cheered. With renewed vigor, he attacked, using the staff and knocking them all off their feet. Troy crashed to the pavement, and Gia landed on top of Noah. Dream Snatcher took aim at Noah, but was blinded by laser fire that came from somewhere over their heads.

Robo Knight had arrived. "Hostile target neutralized," he informed them.

"Nice of you to join us," Troy said, getting to his feet and helping Jake up.

Robo Knight surveyed the scene. "These roots are making the earth rot."

"That monster created those roots. He's eating people's hopes and dreams," Noah told Robo Knight.

Robo Knight looked at the blue ranger. "What are dreams?"

Troy rolled his eyes. "Dreams are what humans wish for and hope to achieve!" Troy told him impatiently. "We don't really have time to talk about this right now-"

He heard a scream. He turned. Inside his helmet, Troy's face went white. " _Emma!"_

Dream Snatcher had gotten too close to Emma. His staff was pointing straight at Emma's chest. It started to glow.

"Emma, _move!_ " Jake yelled. But the energy from the staff had her frozen in place.

As Dream Snatcher pulled the staff away, Emma collapsed to the pavement. Her suit disappeared, leaving her helpless on the ground. "No!" Troy yelled.

"Emma!" Gia screamed.

Dream Snatcher grinned an ugly smile their direction. "Her dreams were devoured. She'll _never_ wake up!" Jake and Noah both tried to hit him, but with a chuckle, Dream Snatcher disappeared in a burst of light.

Gia demorphed and ran to Emma's side. "Emma! Emma, _please_ wake up!" She dropped to her knees, grabbing Emma's hand in hers.

Troy was next to her in a second, his uniform disappearing in a burst of red light. "Stay with us, Emma," he pleaded.

Emma's body lurched. To the team's horror, the same white roots that had sprouted under the other victims splayed out beneath Emma's still form. "Emma!" Gia cried. She shook Emma violently. "No, Emma, get up, get _up!_ "

"Gia!" Troy barked. "Stop!" Jake grabbed Gia under the arms and pulled her back. Gia jerked out of his arms, but Jake grabbed her again and pulled her away from them.

Troy saw Robo Knight taking aim at the roots splayed under Emma, and he reached up and put one hand on the barrel of his blaster. "Don't cut the roots! If you cut the roots you might hurt these people!" _Emma especially._

"Back up, dude," Noah advised. Robo Knight was silent for a moment, then took a heavy step backwards.

Troy knelt down next to Emma's ear. "Emma, I know you can hear me. Or at least, I hope you can. You have to fight," he begged her. "We can't help you in there. We need you. Come back to us." He laced his fingers through hers. "Come back to _me_ ," he whispered.

"Troy?" Noah asked timidly. Troy barely looked up.

"What?"

"If there's anybody that can spark hopes and dreams," Noah replied, "it's Emma." He put a hand on Troy's shoulder. "No worries, man. She's strong enough to fight this."

"I know," Troy admitted. He squeezed Emma's hand. "I know." He felt Jake and Gia come join them.

"Do you remember all those wishes Emma had?" Jake asked after a minute. Gia nodded, looking down at Emma with tears in her eyes. "I bet they're giving that guy some serious indigestion right now." Gia coughed out a short laugh, which Troy knew was what Jake had wanted.

"Emma would never let go of her dreams," Troy replied, looking at Gia. Gia was Emma's best friend. If this was tearing him up, he could only imagine what it was doing for her.

"No matter what," Gia blinked back the tears. She rubbed her thumb over Emma's hand.

"And I bet she's encouraging every single person not to give up on theirs," Noah added, kneeling down beside Troy. The team was silent for a few moments, each saying silent thoughts of encouragement toward their friend.

Something moved under Troy's leg. He looked down, and gasped. "Guys. Look!"

The roots under Emma were receding. After a moment, they were gone completely. "Yes!" Jake laughed. "Go, Emma!"

Troy looked down at her. _She's fighting_. _But she's going to need our help._ He stood up, looking at Robo Knight, who had been watching the exchange emotionlessly. "Robo Knight. You stay here, protect Emma. We're going after Dream Snatcher."

"We are?" Gia asked. "But, Troy-"

Troy looked at Robo Knight. "We're trusting you to keep her safe," he told the robot. He pointed to Emma. "That's our friend and our teammate. We saved you, and now you need to return the favor. Keep her safe." He looked at Gia. "Come on. We need you. Emma needs you."

Gia nodded. "Okay."

"Gosei!" Troy pulled out his morpher. "We need a location on Dream Snatcher."

* * *

The Rangers found Dream Snatcher out in the trees after Tensou tracked his signals. With a pang, Troy realized he could see Jessup Point behind Dream Snatcher's head. If they didn't stop him… _Emma wouldn't see the meteor shower, wouldn't get to wish on the falling stars_. With a yell, he yanked out his morpher and changed into the Red Ranger. "Ultra Mode!" he yelled, and the new golden armor and staffs they'd received appeared in his hands. He tensed, ready to charge.

"Troy, wait!" he heard Noah yell.

Through his anger, Troy looked at Dream Snatcher, and realized that the purple creature was holding its belly the way Troy used to when he was little and had a stomach ache. "I'm feeling sick!" the monster moaned. _Good_ , Troy thought angrily.

"Hey, I bet Emma is riling everybody up in his dream world!" Noah called out.

"Yeah, being sad is _so_ not Emma," Gia confirmed.

"Whether she's sad or not, I ate her dreams!" Dream Snatcher reminded them. "She'll never wake!"

"Wrong! If someone hold onto their dreams hard enough, no one can ever take them!" Troy growled. He shrugged Gia's hand off his arm and lowered his staff. "Let's take him down!"

A field of gold lights broke through the red rage, and he paused. Dream Snatcher's stomach began to bulge as a sea of golden light burst from the center of his chest. "What's goin' on?" Jake wondered.

* * *

Ten miles away, Emma Goodall sat straight up on the ground, blinking in confusion. She glanced over and saw Robo Knight standing a few feet behind her. "What happened?" she asked aloud. She stood up, and it came rushing back to her. _Dream Snatcher…the fight…_ and then somewhere, in the back of her mind, Troy's voice… _Come back to me._ She closed her eyes and smiled.

* * *

"They've escaped!" Dream Snatcher wailed.

Troy pumped his fist in excitement. "Let's get him!" he yelled, and the four rangers charged. Troy slashed him across the chest with his Dragon Sword, and his teammates followed behind.

"You're _dreaming_ if you think you can defeat me!" Dream Snatcher sneered.

"We're your worst nightmare!" Jake yelled back.

"Hey, Dream Snatcher!"

The voice made Troy stop dead, and he turned and looked skyward as the Lion Zord appeared, with Emma standing astride the top.

"Emma!" Gia yelled, relief flooding her voice. The Lion Zord folded and Robo Knight returned to stand with the rangers, Emma beside him.

"We thought we lost you," Troy told her, spinning her around into a hug.

She flashed him a thumbs up and her visor popped open. "All it took was a little hope," Emma smiled at him. Then, she popped her visor closed again and turned to face Dream Snatcher. "Robo Knight and I got this one," she told Troy.

Troy returned her thumbs up and stood back.

"Ultra Mode! Activate!" Emma yelled. Her golden armor and staff appeared. She leapt into the air, her staff slamming into Dream Snatcher, cracking him across the face. He tried to blow her backwards, but to everyone's surprise, Robo Knight caught her, and launched her back toward him. The end of her staff rammed the monster dead center in the chest, knocking him on his bullfighting behind.

"Robo Blade!" Robo Knight charged, his silver sword impacting Dream Snatcher in the chest again. He summoned some vines that appeared out of nowhere, wrapping Dream Snatcher and immobilizing them. Then, Emma jumped into the air. "Ultra Strike!" she yelled. She came down directly on top of Dream Snatcher, her staff dropping him to his knees. The creature knelt there, stunned. "Now to finish this!" she said. She looked at Robo Knight and nodded.

The other four rangers watched as Robo Knight took aim with his laser pistol. Emma leveled her staff at him. "Ultra Sky Dynamic!" The two fired at the same time. The blast vaporized Dream Snatcher, and Emma turned back to her team, triumphant.

And Troy would never admit he'd never been more turned on in his life.

* * *

After the inevitable MegaZord fight as Dream Snatcher was brought back by Prince Vrak, Emma and Troy were walking side by side in the city park. They walked past a kid about their age in a black vest and white shirt with shaggy hair, playing a cover of a Rebel Rockers tune on his guitar. "He wants to write his own music and go on a world tour some day," Emma told Troy with a smile.

"He's not bad," Troy agreed. "And his taste in tunes is decent enough." On impulse, he grabbed Emma's hand as they kept walking. Emma squeezed it back. Troy grinned as they walked together, enjoying what was left of the afternoon.

Out of the corner of his eye, Troy caught a glint of light on a nearby rooftop. He shielded his eyes and looked up. "Hey, there's Robo Knight."

"We should go tell him thank you," Emma suggested. "You told him to protect me, and he did. I'd say that deserves some praise."

Troy smiled. "I completely agree." He texted the other rangers to join them on the building, then held Emma's hand as they teleported up to the roof.

"What are you doing up here?" Troy asked when they'd materialized next to him.

"Observing," came the mechanical response. The robot was facing out over the city.

"Do you have dreams, Robo Knight?" Emma asked.

"I do not have a dream. I have a mission to protect the earth."

"You could take a break from that mission," Jake pointed out as he and Noah and Gia arrived. "There's a meteor shower tonight. Supposed to be the biggest one this year."

The robot didn't even turn around. "No. My mission comes first." The robot bent his knees, and jumped, disappearing into the sunset.

Jake looked at the others. "I tried," he shrugged.

Emma patted him on the arm. "He'll come around," she told him. "You trusted him enough to keep watch over me today, and he returned the favor by helping us defeat Dream Snatcher," she pointed out, when Jake scoffed. "He wouldn't have taken orders from you before. He's starting to trust us."

Tires flung gravel as Gia pulled into the trailhead parking lot at Jessup Point. "Let's go, guys!" Troy urged. "We'll lose our spot!" He jumped out of the Jeep and pulled Emma out behind him. Gia locked the vehicle and the five of them practically sprinted up the trail to the top of the hill. Darkness had fallen fifteen minutes ago, and the five of them were eager to get settled to see the meteors fall.

Emma unlocked her tripod and extended the legs, planting them in the hillside. As she worked on securing the camera to the latch, she looked back at Troy. Troy was staring straight ahead, deep in thought. She took a step backwards and poked him in the nose. "You look worried. Why?"

"I was just thinking …." Troy said, embarrassed to be caught.

"Oh no. No thinking," Emma told him. "Not tonight." She returned back to connecting her remote shutter, but not before looking back over her shoulder and giving Troy a wink. When he grinned and ducked his head, she laughed and flicked her camera on, adjusting the aperture and the speed.

"Come on Emma, you can't watch the whole thing through your camera lens!" Gia told her friend. "Sit!"

Emma took the remote in her hand and plopped down next to Troy. "Watcha thinking about?" she asked him.

"Nothing," Troy said. When Emma raised an eyebrow, he gave in. "I was really scared today, Emma. We almost lost you."

"I was never worried. I knew you'd bring me back," Emma replied. He noticed as she said that, she wasn't talking to the rest of the team. She was looking right at him. "I heard you, you know. When you told me to come back to you." She intertwined her fingers with his. "That gave me the hope I needed to get everybody wishing again in the dream world."

Troy closed his eyes. _I wish…_

The next thing he felt was Emma's lips on his. He became vaguely aware of Jake and Noah cheering next to him, but he didn't care. They broke apart and Emma bit her lip, looking up at the sky.

Troy smiled as he tilted her head back toward him and kissed her again. Meteors streaked by overhead, ones that Emma's automatic shutter would catch later. The real stars were in the sky. The rest were in Emma's eyes as she leaned back into his chest and the two of them settled back as the stars streaked overhead.


	22. Future Unclear

"Goal!" Jake yelled triumphantly as the ball sailed past Troy and underneath the bench. Troy jogged around it and picked up the ball, tossing it back to Jake.

"Yeah, nice kick, David Beckham," Troy said, unimpressed. "You realize that this is like Beckham playing like a five year old, right?" He grinned to show he was kidding, but it was true. The score was currently 10-3, and Jake was kicking his _and_ Noah's tail.

Jake shrugged. "Oh come on, oh Fearless Leader. You can kick loogies around but not a soccer ball?"

"Loogies are bigger," Troy pointed out, and Jake laughed. "I'm going to quit while I'm ahead." He looked down to the street to see Gia paying for two ice cream cones from the truck that was parked at the curb. Troy walked down to meet her. "Those for you and Emma?" he asked.

Gia nodded. Then she smiled. "You wanna win some brownie points?" she asked. She handed a bright pink cone to Troy. "This is Emma's. Soy strawberry cheesecake," she explained. "This is her favorite."

Troy accepted the cone. "So…I'm guessing you're good with me and Emma together then?" he asked her.

Gia nodded. "Oh, yeah," she nodded. "You guys are good for each other." She looked him in the eye. "Just don't break her heart, or I'll break your nose," she cautioned.

Troy laughed. "I believe you would. Don't worry." He looked down to the water's edge. "I want to be in it for the long haul." He sighed. "Assuming we can beat the Armada and life goes back to normal and there ends up being a long haul, anyway."

"Normal?" Gia scoffed. "What's that?"

"Normal is me being able to spend time with Emma without Tensou cutting in with a monster attack," Troy replied seriously. "Knowing that we're going to have a future if we decide to start one."

Gia frowned. "You're awfully serious this morning, Troy," she said. "Last night during the meteor shower you seemed a little on edge too…I just figured it was 'cause you were nervous about Emma."

"Just thinking," Troy admitted. "Emma was part of it, but thinking about Emma and going out with Emma ultimately means thinking about the future, and wondering if there's going to be one, which involves us beating the Armada…" He shrugged. "Sorry. I didn't mean to unload on you."

Gia smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. Whether or not we show it, we all think about that stuff," she admitted. Troy saw her eyes flicker over his shoulder. "But just 'cause we're fighting the Armada now, doesn't mean we should quit living our lives, either."

"Good advice," Troy told her, and the meaning wasn't lost on her. He tilted Emma's ice cream her direction. "Thanks for the tip," he added, and wandered down to the water. Emma was leaning against the railing, deep in thought. "One scoop soy strawberry cheesecake," Troy announced, and Emma jumped. He laughed as she turned around. "Sorry," he apologized.

"My favorite," Emma said happily, accepting the cone.

Troy smiled. "I'm learning." He leaned against the rail next to her, looking out over the bay. "Whatcha thinking about?" he asked.

Emma's eyes drifted across the bay. "A lot of stuff," she said. Then she smiled. "Who won your soccer game?"

Troy rolled his eyes. "Who do you think?" he asked her, inclining his head toward Jake, who was balancing the ball on his head. "If he doesn't get into some college on a soccer scholarship it'll be a travesty."

"Hard to believe we're almost seniors," Emma commented. "It's what….a week until school's out for the semester?"

Troy nodded. "Yup. And then Christmas and New Year's and then…we're seniors." He frowned. "Yikes. When you put it like that…" Then he brightened. "Oh, that reminds me. My folks want to know if we want to go sandboarding next weekend."

"Sandboarding?" Emma licked the ice cream out of her cone and got a speck of strawberry on her nose. Troy deftly poked it away.

"Yeah. It's like snowboarding, kind of, but on sand. Outside of Mariner Bay, there's a place with these big sand dunes in the desert. It's chilly enough that most people won't want to go, but we've always gone right before Christmas as a family." He looked at her. "You guys are like family, so Mom and Dad told me to invite you along."

Emma smiled. "That would be awesome. It sounds like fun-"

Troy's jacket pocket buzzed, and he tugged out his morpher. "Speaking of sounding like fun…" he grimaced. "What's up, Tensou?"

"There'a monster attacking the warehouse district!" Tensou chirped on the other end.

"We're on it," Troy responded. He looked at Emma. "Let's go have some 'fun,'" he said, rolling his eyes. The others joined them and they looked for a safe place to teleport. Finding a spot around a corner, the five of them teleported to the other side of the bay, in the empty area locals called Warehouse City. The city had basically given up trying to build anything in that part of the city as it was a frequent site for monster attacks. The Rangers often moved a villain there so that they'd minimize city damage.

When they arrived, the problem was instantly identifiable. The thing facing them inside what looked like an old car garage, was copper colored. He was round on top like a hubcap, with arms and legs. It spotted them as they stood in front of it, and it clapped its' copper hands. It was the first thing they'd fought that didn't look like an insect or an animal.

"It's a robot," Noah breathed.

"Still not a species," Gia said out of the corner of her mouth.

"And still not going to win," Troy said. "It's morphing time!" The five of them morphed into their suits and took a defensive position.

"Let me show you how I roll!" The robot's limbs shrank into its body and it rolled toward them, plowing through their line. They scattered, rolling and diving out of the way. "You'll never break through my defenses!"

Troy stood at the front of the rangers as they regrouped. "We'll see," he said. "Megaforce blasters!"

As they took aim, Troy saw a glow around the robot. Pieces of metal began flying toward the bot, coalescing into a thick metal clump. The rangers fired, but the shield the bot had made simply deflected their shots into the walls around them. Sparks flew. Then, the robot flipped the shield, and, like Captain America, tossed it at them. The shield swung like a boomerang, hitting all of them. The magnetic charge in the shield made the suits spark and sent them to their knees. Troy hit the ground, gasping.

Something stepped past him. Silver, shiny metal boots. A flat voice said, "Stop right there."

 _Robo Knight_. Troy closed his eyes behind his helmet. _Thank you!_

The copper robot stopped, sizing up the new arrival. Robo Knight leveled his laser blaster at him. "Another ranger?" the robot wondered.

"No life signs," Robo Knight noted, studying the robot. "You are a robot. Like me."

"Not like you!" The copper robot took a menacing step forward. "I am Rotox, and I am evil!" With that pronunciation, he blasted Robo Knight across the room, catching him off guard. Robo Knight crashed into a pile of scrap metal.

"Hang on!" Troy yelled, getting to his feet, his breath back. He lunged at the robot.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rotox used his magnetic beam to levitate some chains from a pile in a corner, presumably formerly used to hold the cars in the air. The chains wrapped themselves around the rangers, pinning their arms to their sides.

"I can't move!" Noah grimaced, flexing his arms. The chains didn't budge. The magnetic charge was holding the ends together.

Rotox trained his beam on them, the beam picking up the chains, and flung the rangers out into daylight. They hit the ground hard, with no way to steady themselves. Troy landed next to Gia, who was lying on her back, groaning. "You okay?" he asked her.

"Do I sound okay?" Gia ground out.

"Robo Knight?" Troy tried. Their ally didn't answer. _That can't be good…_

"You should be worried about yourselves!" Rotox picked up Troy wiht the beam and threw him into a stack of motor oil cans. Troy cried out in pain as he landed hard on his right arm.

Jake managed to get a hand to his belt and summon his Snake Axe. He reached toward Gia and sliced the chains holding her arms to her side. They fell away. Gia took it from him and freed him, then turned to work on Emma and Noah. "You guys okay?" Jake asked Emma and Noah. Both of them nodded. Jake turned to Gia. "Let's get this guy." Gia brandished her Tiger Claws and the two of them rushed Rotox. Rotox simply waved them away. Jake rolled into a backwards shoulder roll. While Gia, Emma and Noah went after Rotox again, Jake sprinted over to where Troy was still lying on the ground, and hacked the chains away with his axe. "Thanks, man," Troy breathed. "I can't raise Robo Knight."

As he said it, though, he heard a metallic voice through his helmet. "I am trying to reboot," Robo Knight told him.

Troy relayed that to Jake. "Whatever Rotox did, he must've hit Robo Knight hard."

"I've had enough of this walking hubcap," Jake seethed. "Time to send your butt to the recycling bin!" he yelled at Rotox. The robot turned to face him. "Ultra mode!" Jake led the charge, the others following suit, the metal reinforcement armor attaching to their suits.

Noah led the attack. "You're an impressive machine," he told Rotox. "Too bad I have to turn you in to scrap!"

"You're headed for the junk yard!" Jake added. He took a swing at Rotox with his staff. Emma and Gia were right behind him. "You picked the wrong people to mess with!" Emma yelled at him, catching Rotox under his chin with her own staff, knocking him off his feet. Troy opted for his Dragon Sword, taking off with it pointed straight at Rotox. Rotox threw his shield, but the Dragon Sword stopped it. "Enough!" Troy said. "Let's put a positive spin on this!" he yelled, swinging his sword. The shield spun back at Rotox, nailing him dead center in the chest. "Ultra Strike!" The rangers took aim. Rotox hadn't recovered, and the strike hit him full on. The robot fell, collapsing into bits of metal chunks.

"I guess robots aren't indestructible," Emma said triumphantly. She put a hand on Troy's shoulder. "Nice work."

"Well done, Rangers," Robo Knight said, coming up behind him. He walked a bit slower, Troy guessed it had to do with his systems coming back online. He demorphed, his body sagging a bit as the Power left him. The others demorphed as well, and they were silent for a few moments, looking at the scrap metal that used to be Rotox. "That was different than fighting the insects. Or the mutants," Noah noted.

"Robots." Troy frowned. "The Armada is changing tactics again."

"Monsters can be destroyed," Robo Knight said. "A damaged machine can be repaired."

"He has a point," Noah said.

"And not a good one," Jake confirmed. "I don't like this at all."

"Me either," Troy said, glancing at Gia. "Insects, then mutants, now robots?" He bit his lip. "The Armada is stepping up. They must be getting desperate."

Suddenly, the future seemed slightly less certain-again.


	23. Anything Can Happen

"Did you see the way Robo Knight got confused when we first faced that robot?" Noah asked later. The five of them had returned to the park. Emma and Gia were on the bench, Emma lying on her back with her head in Gia's lap. Troy was sitting on the grass, his head leaning back on Emma's hip. Jake was on his back, flipping his soccer ball in the air with one hand, and Noah was sitting cross legged near Emma's feet, on the grass.

"He recognized him as one of his own kind," Jake said, catching the ball with both hands.

"After all we did to get him on our side…" Emma said quietly.

Noah nodded thoughtfully. "What do you think, Troy?"

Troy closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. "Robo Knight knows how they work better than us. He did hesitate…" Troy trailed off. "Let's just hope his loyalty still lies with us."

The five teens were silent for a moment, contemplating. The silence was shattered by their morphers. "There's a new attack in city center!" Gosei's voice thundered.

"Twice in one day?" Emma said, sitting up. "You weren't kidding, Troy. They're stepping up their game."

* * *

The sight they saw when they arrived wasn't at _all_ what they had expected. Rotox stood before them. "What the hell?" Troy exclaimed.

"Better question," Jake said, pointing. "Who's his friend?" He pointed to the robot standing next to Rotox. It looked vaguely female, with blue body armor and cream colored patches where skin would be. Her hair was green and stringy, reminding Gia of a picture of Medusa she'd seen in their history book.

"Better question," Gia countered. "We beat him already. Who put Humpty Dumpty back together?"

"This," the female robot announced, "is the new, improved model of Rotox. Rotox DX." Her eyes glowed blue, the same blue, Emma noted with a frown, of Prince Vrak of the Armada. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"Let's blow both these robots back where they came from!" Emma said, the urge to have this over and done with getting to her.

"Megaforce Blaster!" Troy yelled, agreeing with her. The rangers put the weapon together. "Dynamic Victory Charge!" They took aim. "Fire!" Troy commanded. The golden blast ripped through the space toward Rotox, but to Troy's surprise, Rotox easily dodged it. "He's faster," Troy said.

"I told you, he's new and improved," the female robot smirked with her emotionless face. "Show them!"

"I'm stronger than before! Let me demonstrate!" Rotox fired at the girls, sending them diving for cover. He attacked Noah and Jake with red tentacles of energy, as they wrapped themselves around the Blue and Black rangers. It sizzled and crackled in the air, leaving Jake and Noah on their hands and knees.

"Rangers!" Robo Knight had arrived.

The female robot stepped forward. "Do not interfere." She walked up to Robo Knight. "My name is metal Alice. We are not your enemies. We have no intention of harming the earth, just conquering the humans and making them slaves. That will be _better_ for the earth in the long run."

"She's crazy!" Gia yelled at Robo Knight.

Metal Alice ignored her. "Who created all this pollution? Humans!"

Troy saw Robo Knight pause. "True…" he said.

"Try to imagine it before humans came along!" Metal Alice urged him.

"It's not that simple!" Noah told her. "Robo Knight, don't listen to her!"

""We'll be around much longer after you humans are extinct." Rotox attacked the rangers, sending them flying into the cement planters circling the area. As they struggled back to their feet, Metal Alice said, "I think I've made my point." He blue eyes flashed at Robo Knight. "Robo Knight…think about which side you should be on."

"What a robo-witch." Gia groused, her suit dematerializing.

Emma stepped up to Robo Knight, her suit disappearing in a burst of pink light. "Robo Knight, you don't believe what Metal Alice said…do you?"

Robo Knight stepped away from Emma. "Need to process," he said, and using the jets built into his boots, he disappeared, leaving the rangers standing alone.

"What if he _does_?" Emma whispered to Troy.

Troy shook his head. "He won't. I know he won't. He's on our side." He looked at his team, who were staring disbelievingly back at him. "Come on guys, we gotta find Metal Alice and Rotox.

"Can we take them both?" Emma asked him, slipping her hand into his.

Troy shook his head. "We don't have a choice."

* * *

When Gosei and Tensou finally picked up Metal Alice and Rotox's signatures again, they had moved near the stadium. A new parking garage was in the process of being built. No workers were around, to the team's relief. "Oh, you're back," Metal Alice said, noting the presence of the five morphed rangers dismissively. "And Robo Knight isn't with you….I guess he realized you're the real threat. You children have to face us on your own."

"Robo Knight is gonna see right through you!" Gia yelled. "And so do we!" Noah, Emma and focused on Rotox first. Troy caught him with a high kick, then spun to kick him again. Rotox was ready the second time, grabbed his foot, and threw him into the cement foundation wall. It cracked.

"They could bring this place down!" Noah realized quickly. "Be careful!"

"I will terminate you all!" Rotox said gleefully, turning his focus to the Blue Ranger, knocking Noah away with his round body.

"Unlike us, you can be destroyed." Metal Alice almost sounded amused as Emma and Gia tag teamed her, but she batted them away.

"I'm gonna turn you from metal into dust!" Troy seethed from the ground as he used his Dragon Sword to get him to his feet.

"I will prove how superior machines are to man." Metal Alice turned on Troy and was about to attack when someone called her name. It echoed through the cement.

Robo Knight stood before them. "God I hope he's here for us," Jake muttered.

"You gave some thought to what I said?" Alice asked the robot knight.

Robo Knight spoke. "Humans are emotional creatures. They often make illogical and reckless decisions."

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Gia asked Emma. Emma shook her head.

"But you are wrong. And I will not join you. Humans are part of the earth too. The good they do far outweighs the bad. My mission is to protect the earth- _including_ the humans. _You_ are fighting for the wrong side." With that, Robo Knight attacked Rotox. "Knight Dynamic. Fire!" The energy hit Rotox full-on, and the robot exploded into metal shavings.

"Yes!" Troy cheered, pumping his fist. "I knew you were on our side!"

Robo Knight turned to the Red Ranger. "You seem surprised."

"No way. We believe in you," Troy shrugged. "Ultra mode, guys! Let's finish what Robo Knight started!"

Metal Alice glared. "You will fall with them," she told Robo Knight.

Robo Knight faced her. "I will _stand_ with them. These humans will save the earth."

Metal Alice paused. "Until we meet again," she said simply, and disappeared before the rangers could form a plan of attack.

"I'd rather not," Jake grimaced.

* * *

Rush hour traffic was just starting to fill up the streets below them as the rangers stood on a roof with Robo Knight. The street lights had just come on with the shorter daylight hours, casting shadows on the building and the streets below. A few of the skyscrapers around them had lights on in the upper floors. Troy could see the hospital and couldn't remember if his mom was working that evening or not. It always seemed like his folks tried to get in extra hours before Christmas so they could spend as much of the holiday with him as they could.

"You know," Emma mused, "this morning I was wondering how people's presence has changed the planet." She smiled, looking at everybody. "Robo Knight said it, our capacity for good outweighs the bad. We're just as much a part of this planet as the trees and the ocean and everything else." She hugged her arms. "We're going to win, guys. I can feel it. The Armada is going to try to destroy us. But we're going to win. As long as we stick together. We can win." She looked at Robo Knight. "You're our sixth ranger, Robo Knight. You're a part of this team. We couldn't do it without you."

"Well," Robo Knight spoke in his monotone, "you _are_ only human."

Jake's jaw dropped. "Did he just make a joke?" He looked at everyone, incredulous. "I think he just made a joke. That was definitely a joke, right?"

"Robo Knight just made a joke," Troy shrugged, wrapping an arm around Emma and smiling. "Anything can happen."


	24. Too Close to Home

Grafton Butte loomed in the background as Troy stood at the bottom of a very large sand dune. He was dressed in a pair of red board shorts, holding a plastic boogie board. "Long way up," he noted to his Aunt Kelsey, who was dressed in a pale yellow tanktop and gray sweatpants.

Kelsey grinned. "Nah, that's not even high! Come on, nephew o'mine, don't tell me the Megaforce Red Ranger is scared of heights!"

"She's got a point, Troy, I'm pretty sure the cockpit of the MegaZord sits higher," Emma offered. She wore a pink tanktop and cutoff denim shorts, holding a bright yellow board in her arms.

"What are you wusses waiting for?" Jake asked, climbing up the side of the hill with Ryan Mitchell, Noah and Gia. "Let's go!"

Troy looked over at his father, who was wearing a red tank and blue shorts. Carter grinned. "Last one down buys dessert for everybody," Carter told his son.

"Looks like that'll be you!" Emma called as she and Gia darted past them, their bare feet digging into the sand.

Carter glanced at Troy. "I like her," he told his son, and Troy shook his head. "No way!" he yelled after Emma, and father and son took off after the women, scrambling up the side of the dune.

Kelsey rolled her eyes, pointing at them. "Boys," she sighed melodramatically. Then, the she was following the crew up the dune, coming to stand up at the crest. "All right," Ryan said. He adjusted the drawstring on his silver shorts. "Rules. Count of three, everyone goes. You have to be on your belly on the board. Keep your feet in the air or you'll drag. Last one down buys dessert in town." He grinned, looking at the Megaforce rangers. "Hope you kids brought your wallets," he added. He saw Noah roll his eyes and chuckled. "All right. Here we go. One…Two…"

He pushed off the hill, yelling "Three!" as he slid down the hill.

"Cheater!" Kelsey yelled after her husband, pushing off after him, Troy, Carter, and the others hot on her heels.

Ryan thought he had it in the bag, until a blur of pink sailed past him. Emma slid past him on the flat ground, coming to a stop a good five feet ahead of him. She was laying on her stomach on her board, and put her head on her hands and waved. Not surprisingly, Carter, with his big six-two frame, was the last to make it to the bottom. In truth, he didn't mind. There was no way he was making the kids buy anyway. Not when this was supposed to be a relaxing day for them. School had just let out for Christmas break, and the holiday itself was only four days away. Dana was at a pediatrics conference in Ocean Bluff, and she was appropriately bummed that she wasn't spending the day sandboarding with the kids and her family. But the conference was mandatory and the head of the department had insisted. The trade off was that she wasn't working Christmas Day, so it really worked out for her benefit. She was supposed to get in later that evening, but any later in the day it would be too cold to go sandboarding, and the park closed at sunset. Carter had plans to order pizza for everyone, and he could go get her at the train station and get the pizza on the way back.

A few more turns down the hill, and then everyone piled into Carter's truck, Gia's Jeep or Kelsey and Ryan's car and drove into Mariner Bay, where, to Troy's surprise, Bill Mitchell was waiting for them in front of the Pink Cadillac, the 50s-themed diner in downtown. And, to Carter's surprise, his father in law paid for everyone's banana splits.

Carter's phone buzzed. He glanced at the text. "That's your mom," he told Troy. "She's at the station, and should be in about 6:15." He looked at the kids. "Is that too late for you guys to get back if we do pizza after?"

"They could crash at the house," Bill offered. "I've got the room."

"That would be awesome, Grandpa," Troy enthused. He looked around at his team, and they were nodding in agreement.

"Girls in Dana's old room, boys in Ryan's," Bill added. It was extremely enjoyable watching his grandson's ears turn pink, though he tried hard to hide it by burying his face in his banana split.

* * *

_Ocean Bluff_

Dana settled into her seat on the train and closed her eyes. It had been an early morning, and she was looking forward to catching a nap on the three hour train ride back to Mariner Bay. She'd passed a poster for Jungle Karma Pizza and suddenly, she couldn't wait for supper back home in Mariner Bay.

The row of seats shifted, and she opened her eye to see a woman with black hair sit down next to her, on her cell phone. Dana heard a small voice ask, "Can you make the train go faster?" on the other end of the phone.

The woman laughed. "I'll be there before you know it," she said. "And you owe me a great big hug. I love you, and I'll see you in a few hours." She hung up the phone and tucked it into her purse. She looked at Dana and smiled. "I've been gone almost two weeks. Visiting my mother in the hospital. That was my son. He and my husband are picking me up at the station."

"How old is your son?" Dana asked.

"Eight," the woman replied. "Do you have any kids?"

Dana nodded. "A son. He's seventeen."

"Oh, wow, you don't look old enough to have a teenager," the woman said approvingly. "I hope I age as gracefully as you."

"Well thank you," Dana grinned. "What hospital is your mother in?" she asked. "I just had a conference at Oceanview."

"That's where my mother is. She fell and broke her hip," her seatmate said. "I'm Olivia, by the way."

"Dana," Dana returned. "I was just at a conference at Oceanview. I'm a pediatrician in Harwood."

"Oh for funny!" the woman replied. "My husband is an X-ray tech!"

"Really?" Dana laughed. "You never know who you'll meet on the train. I-"

" _Attention please, we will be making an unscheduled shop. Please stand by. We anticipate resuming service as soon as we can. We are sorry for the inconvenience."_

Dana leaned back and closed her eyes. "The one day I decide not to drive." Sighing, she pulled out her phone and texted Carter. _Train delayed. Don't wait for me._ Then, she turned to Olivia. "Sorry about that. I am missing a dinner date with my family."

"Maybe it's the holiday," Olivia shrugged. "Usually this train runs on time." She leaned back in her seat. "I can't wait to see my husband and my son. I feel like it's been forever."

"My son is…very involved in school," Dana said. "I feel like I hardly see him either." She smiled at Olivia. "Enjoy your son while he's young. When he's a teenager, he'll only be home to eat and sleep!"

"So I've heard!" Olivia laughed back.

* * *

_Mariner Bay_

The engine still sat on the tracks. At one time, the _Pacific 101_ , named after the famed highway, had been a powerful piece of machinery capable of hauling 30 passenger cars on the old Amtrak line. Now, it sat off to the side of the main switchyard about fifteen miles out of Mariner Bay, while the city decided what to do with the old derelict. The paint was flecking off, the wheels showing their age with rust.

She almost seemed sympathetic toward the old machine as she stepped up to it. Even in the fading daylight, the blue of her eyes glowed off the side of the train, illuminating the white _Pacific 101_ in blue.

"This should get the Rangers' attention," Metal Alice growled, stepping away from the engine, leaving behind a small charge. She pressed the button in her mechanical fingers, and _Pacific 101_ exploded in a ball of fire and smoke.

* * *

"So he's flying over the scene, and he's dropping these leaflets over the side of Rescue 4, and Carter comes over the radio and goes-"

"You're such a hotshot!" Kelsey finished Bill Mitchell's story about Joel Rawlings to the explosion of laughter from the Megaforce Rangers, Carter, and Ryan.

Troy grinned. "The funniest part about that," he told his team, "is that that's not even the craziest thing he'd ever done in Rescue 4." He looked at his dad. "You gotta tell them about that time-"

A metal chime sounded from Troy's backpack, and the table fell silent. He looked at Gia, Jake, Noah and Emma and dug into his backpack as he pulled out his morpher.

Bill Mitchell raised an eyebrow. "They've gotten a little bulkier," he whispered to Ryan.

"Rangers, it's Metal Alice. She's attacking the train station!" Tensou's voice chirped over the morpher and Troy looked up at Carter in alarm.

"Mom!"


	25. You Don't Mess With Family

"Go!" Carter said. He looked up at Bill, who was reaching for the phone. He had a friend who worked for Transit. He nodded reassuringly at Troy and the others, then said, "Yeah, Fred Lewis please," into the phone. He made a "Go, go!" motion with his hands, and Troy and his team took off out the door, leaving the adults in worried silence. Ryan had a white knuckle grip on the armrest of the chair, and Carter was staring straight ahead.

Kelsey reached over and squeezed Carter's hand. "She'll be all right," she told him. She looked at Ryan. "She _will_ ," she stressed. "Troy's got this," she said. "Dana'll be okay."

"You're right," Carter said quietly, more to reassure himself than Ryan or Kelsey. "She'll be fine."

* * *

Gosei and Tensou gave the coordinates of a switch station to the Megaforce Rangers, and moments later, Troy and the others teleported in, landing right behind Metal Alice. "Hold it right there!" Emma yelled.

Metal Alice turned, and her blue eyes flashed. "You wish. The train is on its way, Rangers. The track controls are the easiest to destroy." She waved a hand. "And imagine what will happen when I disable the engine on the train. No brakes, no way to stop it…" She smiled. "I've seen what happens when your transportation systems are attacked. It throws humans into complete chaos. You'll be so busy worrying about that, you won't even see the Prince and his Armada coming!"

"Thanks for telling us your plan!" Jake yelled at her, pointing a finger at her.

"Yeah, now we can stop you!" Noah yelled.

"Let's short circuit her!" Gia decided, and she and Emma morphed on the run, blitzing Metal Alice. Troy and Noah followed with an instant morph and a call to their blasters. Troy fired at Metal Alice, hitting her in the leg. She staggered, but recovered quickly, knocking Jake to the side and turning to face the others.

"I'm done with you," she said simply, and faded out of sight.

"Where the hell did she go?" Troy demanded.

"She's got something else planned," Emma said. The others turned to look at her. She popped the visor up on her helmet. "Metal Alice is smart. As much as I hate to admit it. She wouldn't have told us exactly what she had planned. She knows we'll stop her. There's something else that's going to happen." She looked at Troy. "Trust me."

"We should check other places," Troy agreed. "Gia, take the port. Jake and Emma, take the airport. Noah, try the freeway." He looked at them. "I'm going to stay with the train."

* * *

Dana felt a hum and a rumble as the train started moving again. "Oh good, we're on our way," she said with a smile. Her stomach growled. "Sorry!" she apologized. "How embarrassing."

"No worries," Olivia said with a smile. "Here." She reached into her purse and pulled out a small container of crackers. "I keep some for Charlie, but I don't think he'll mind if Mommy shares."

Dana smiled gratefully as she took a couple. _Almost home_ , she thought to herself, and settled in, closing her eyes. _Just a little longer._

* * *

Troy kept out of sight just behind the station. He'd checked the switches along the route, teleporting to each one to check for anything unusual. His cell phone buzzed, and he saw he had a voicemail from his grandfather.

" _Hey kiddo. Fred says your mom's train is on the way. He's talked to his supervisor at the control board, and everything is running normally, and all routes are clear. Keep your eyes open. Your dad says to be careful."_

Troy put the phone back in his pocket.

"Red Ranger."

Troy jerked, and turned to see Robo Knight standing beside him. "What are you doing here?" he asked Robo Knight.

"Gosei asked if I would assist in your search for Metal Alice," Robo Knight responded. "Where are the others?"

"Uh, the port, and the airport," Troy said. "I'm good here, Robo Knight. Really." He returned his gaze out onto the tracks. _Something's going to happen. I just wish I knew what._

"You seem concerned," Robo Knight said.

Troy snorted. "Really. How could you tell?" he asked sarcastically.

"Elevated heart rate. Deep breathing."

Troy rolled his eyes. "You're monitoring my vitals, huh? Well, my mom's on the train coming in from Ocean Bluff and Metal Alice has something planned and we can't find any sign of something unusual. So yeah, Robo Knight, I'm _concerned_." He spit the word out like it tasted bad.

"Are you waiting for someone too?" a little voice piped up. Troy jumped, and looked down to see a little boy in a pair of blue jeans and a gray shirt. He didn't seem overly concerned about the seven foot robot standing next to Troy.

"My mom," Troy said. "She's coming in on the train."

"Mine too!" the boy said. He looked at Robo Knight. "Are you a policeman?" Before Robo Knight could answer, he returned the conversation to Troy. "My mommy is on the train too," he said. "When she gets here I'm giving her a big hug. She's been gone a long time and I miss her."

"Well, it shouldn't be too long now," Troy said, forcing some calm into his voice. "The train is on its way now."

"Oh goodie," the boy said. From the other side on the platform, Troy heard a man's voice call for Charlie. "That's my dad," the boy said. "You can come wait with us, if you want," he offered.

Troy forced a smile. "Um, I'm good here. Thanks." The boy waved and darted around the side of the building. Troy closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "I hate waiting!" he exploded. "I can't just stand here."

His morpher beeped. "Nothing at the docks," Gia reported. "Do you want me to come back to the station?"

"Yeah," Troy said. "See you when you get here. Let the others know too."

"Okay. Troy, your mom'll be fine," Gia promised. "We'll figure out what Metal Alice has going on."

"I know," Troy replied automatically. There was a slight clicking noise as Gia disconnected.

He leaned back against the wall. "It was one thing when they kept attacking us," he told Robo Knight. "But this time my family is involved." He looked down the tracks toward Ocean Bluff. "So now it's personal."

Just then, movement caught his eye. A flash of blue light. "Robo Knight. Metal Alice is here." Troy dashed down the stairs leading to the parking lot and found a door marked DO NOT ENTER that led out below the track. He summoned his blaster and shot the lock on the door, popping it open. "Hey!" he yelled, spotting Metal Alice. She turned to look at him. "Took you long enough," she hissed at him.

Troy morphed and aimed his blaster at her. "It's over, Metal Alice."

She looked from Troy to Robo Knight. "Still aligning with the humans?" she asked Robo Knight.

"My place is with them, against you," he responded. Then, "Red Ranger, I am picking up an electronic signal." He pointed with one hand. "There."

Troy followed his finger up to the support beam holding the track level with the station platform. A small metal device was stuck to the cement. Ticking down.

"A bomb." Troy looked at her. "You're gonna blow the track _and_ the station."

"Seven minutes from now," Metal Alice replied. "And I'll give you something to keep you busy until then," she added. She looked at him. "I know how much you hate to _wait."_

Several loogies appeared between Troy, Robo Knight, and the support beam. "Too scared to fight me alone?" Troy demanded.

"You're not alone!" That voice came from Emma, who appeared, morphed, with the rest of the team.

Troy could hear voices up on the platform. "Let's go. Please move, please relocate." _Uncle Ryan. Dad. Grandpa Bill. Aunt Kelsey._ He looked at Metal Alice. "You made a big mistake messing with my family," he informed her. "You're finished!"

"We'll see," Metal Alice replied. The loogies attacked. Robo Knight went after Metal Alice. The rangers went after the loogies.

"Guys, we've gotta get to that bomb!" Troy called, using his Dragon Sword to cut down two loogies. He leveled his blaster at another and fired.

"Let's save some time and go Ultra!" Noah called back.

"Good call!" Jake yelled. The Rangers instantly morphed into the heavier armor, and used their Dynamic Strike. The light vaporized the loogies, but Metal Alice had a break in her fight with Robo Knight and summoned more.

Troy swore. "Come _on_ already!" he growled.

* * *

The train rumbled along. Dana was half asleep in her seat. Her phone vibrated, jolting her awake. She pulled the offending phone out of her pocket. "Hey, Carter, what's-"

" _Dana, we've got to stop the train. Your dad's putting in a call to HQ but we need you to try to get up front and talk to the conductor."_

"Carter, I don't understand. What's happening?" she asked. The tremor in her voice made her seatmate wake up. Olivia looked at Dana, concerned.

" _The kids are fighting and we're evacuating the tracks. There's a bomb under the track at the station. We're trying to defuse it but at the speed you're going…you're gonna roll right over the top of it."_ Carter's voice was calm, years of firefighting keeping him level headed.

"Okay." Dana nodded. "Be safe," she told him.

" _You too,"_ Carter replied, and ended the call. Dana stood up and started to get out of her seat.

"Dana, what's happening?" Olivia asked her.

"There's a situation at the station. I need to find the conductor." She stepped over Olivia and out into the aisle. She looked down at the woman. "Just stay here." Dana walked up the aisle, and tapped the shoulder of a young man in a uniform and hat. "Sir, my name is Dana Grayson. We need to stop this train."

"Ma'am, please return to your seat," the young man said. "We're nearly-"

"My father is Captain Bill Mitchell from Lightspeed Rescue. Ring a bell?" she demanded. When the kid's eyes widened, she continued. "We need to stop this train. Now."

* * *

"Hurry! We only have a few minutes!" Troy was getting tired. Everytime he tried to reach the bomb, two more loogies got in his way. "Noah!"

"The platform is empty!" Noah announced. "It's just the train we need to worry about!"

 _Grandpa's influence still gets him something_. "Can you-" A loogie appeared and knocked him back.

"Time is _ticking_ , Rangers," Metal Alice droned, then cried out. Robo Knight had caught her in a moment of gloating, and slashed her across the chest. Oil and sparks flew. "Now, Red Ranger!" Robo Knight instructed.

Troy kicked a loogie away. "Gia! Boost me!"

Gia punched out a loogie and cupped her gloved hands. "Now!" she yelled. Troy took a running jump and leapt off her hands. He stretched his hands out, hoping to pull the bomb off the cement.

Something slammed into him and he hit the ground and rolled. He pounded the ground in frustration and looked to see Jake next to him. "What the hell, Jake?"

The world went white around him. Heat and light and smoke surrounded them. Had it not been for the suits, the five teens would have been seriously injured. A piece of concrete hit the ground inches from Jake's head, and Jake yelped.

"Get off me!" Troy barked. Jake rolled away.

"You're welcome," Jake moaned. "If you'd been up near that thing when it went off…"

Then Troy realized what had happened. The bomb had exploded. Jake had effectively saved his life.

Then... _The bomb had exploded_. "No!" Troy cried. "The bridge is gone!" He looked desperately at his team. Metal Alice was lying on the ground a few feet away, Robo Knight near her. The explosion had knocked their circuits.

"Troy! _Troy!_ " The voice he heard was his grandfather's, and he looked through the smoke and debris to see Bill Mitchell climbing over what was left of the platform, Carter Grayson on his heels.

"Are you okay?" Carter demanded.

"Fine. But, the bridge-"

"Guys!" Emma cut in. "I have an idea!" She grinned. "The Zords are about as long as the hole," she said, confirming it quickly with Noah. "So if we stick the Zord in the empty space-"

"It'll ride right over the top!" Gia realized. "Yes!"

"The Dragon would be the best," Emma told Troy, and Troy hugged her. Then, he called for the Dragon Zord.

A whistle sounded. Carter's face went white. "That's the train." He looked at Bill. "It's here!"

"So is my Dragon Zord!" Troy replied. He jumped into the robotic dragon and stretched it full-length across the gaping hole.

Jake and Noah pulled Carter and Bill a few feet away. The train came roaring through the station, the sound of screeching brakes and the whistle making them all go partially deaf. But then just as quickly, it was over. The train braked to a stop just on the other side of the Dragon Zord's head. There was a hiss of hydraulics and steam.

"They did it!" Bill Mitchell yelled.

"That's my boy," Carter said proudly. He looked at the Rangers. "You guys are amazing," he told them. "Well done." He gave Emma a hug.

A shadow fell over them, and everyone turned to see a large Metal Alice above them. "Thanks, but it isn't over yet," Emma replied. "Excuse us a sec. And you might want to move."

"Okay, seriously, no offense to Angela, but those Zords are awesome!" Kelsey enthused, as they watched the Megaforce team fight the giant female robot. "Seriously cool." She shielded her eyes, looking into the fading sunlight. The adults watched as the Megaforce Zord's leg lashed out, catching Metal Alice in the face. A light grew from the large sword it held, and in one swing, a burst of light slashed Metal Alice from shoulder to waist. The giant robot broke apart, shattering into pieces.

Ryan looked at Carter and Bill. "Well, I know what you guys will be doing tomorrow," he said dryly.

"Don't look at me," Bill countered. "I'm almost ready for retirement, Mr. Security Officer."

Ryan groaned.

"Hey, guys," Kelsey said. "Just heard that they're having the train go down a few blocks to where it's level with the street to let folks off." She smiled. "Let's go!"

Troy zipped his jacket and waited amid a flurry of EMTs, firefighters and policemen as the Amtrak train rolled into the crossing. The crossing guards were blinking but the guards were up so that people could get off. He slipped his hand in Emma's as they waited for the doors to open. She squeezed his hand reassuringly. The adrenaline from finally defeating Metal Alice was wearing off, and he was tired.

A blonde with a small carry on roller bag and a black peacoat stepped off the train. Someone brushed by Troy and he saw his father running toward the train. Carter picked up Dana in one move and gave her a bone crushing hug. The two stood illuminated in the flashing red crossing lights for a moment, like they were the only ones around.

"They're so cute," Emma whispered to Troy. Troy grinned. A woman came out behind Dana, and Troy spotted the little boy that had talked to him earlier running to her. She swung him into her arms. _Must be Mom_ , he thought.

Carter and Dana were holding hands as they joined the group. "Well, I don't know about you guys," Dana said, "but I could definitely go for some pizza." Jake, Noah and Gia cheered as everyone headed for their vehicles.

Emma started to walk away, but stumbled a bit as she realized Troy hadn't moved. "Hey," she said, squeezing his hand again. "Come on," she said. "What's wrong?"

Troy looked at the train, then at her. "Metal Alice is gone, but I have a feeling that's not the last from the Armada," he said. "Something's coming. Something big."

Emma bit her bottom lip. "Come on. Let's enjoy our victory while we can."

Troy let her pull him toward the cars, but he stole a glance up toward the sky. _I know you're up there_ , he thought. _And I know you're coming..._


	26. The Beginning of the End

_December 25_

"Troy!"

The urgency in his father's voice snapped Troy out of his dream and he bolted straight up in bed. Without even questioning, he jumped out of bed, throwing on a pair of black tear away pants over his boxers and came crashing out of his room and down the stairs.

As he slid into the living room, he immediately regretted not putting on a shirt.

But then, again, the look from Emma wasn't so bad.

Troy had been sleeping so soundly he'd forgotten it was Christmas morning. The urgency must have been his dad trying multiple times to wake him up. Emma sat on the floor in front of a woman with short dark hair and Emma's eyes. Troy hadn't actually met Gwen Goodall…. _and boy am I making a heck of a first impression_ , he thought.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Dana said as she came into the living room from the kitchen with two cups of coffee. She handed one to Mrs. Goodall and one to Carter. "Nice of you to join us!"

"Sorry," Troy apologized. "Um. Hi, Emma. Hi, Mrs. Goodall."

Emma smiled back, as did her mother. "Good morning, Troy," Gwen said. "It's nice to finally meet you." She looked at Carter and Dana. "Thank you for inviting us over this morning. Usually Emma and I just open presents and eat leftover pizza."

"You're welcome," Dana said warmly. "I know Troy has a gift for Emma so we figured it would just be easier if she was here to get it, and we've been wanting to meet you since the kids are such good friends." She looked at Troy with the emphasis on _friends_ , and he resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at her.

"All right, no more chitchat," Carter clapped his hands, breaking the conversation. He reached from his spot in his chair under the tree (this year done with red garland and Christmas bulbs), and tossed a box at Troy. Troy caught it inches from his face and shook his head. He handed one to Dana, and Mrs. Goodall gave a smaller box to Emma, while Emma handed over a holiday bag to her mom. "At the Graysons we don't stand on ceremony. Everybody on the count of three."

Troy grinned at the looks on his girlfriend's and her mother's faces. "Christmas chaos," he whispered with a grin. Emma returned the smile.

"One. Two…Three!" Carter announced, and for a few seconds there was only the sound of ripping paper echoing through the living room. Once the madness had ended, everyone was holding something, and Carter pointed to Dana to start. "This was from your dad," she told Troy, showing him a necklace with a purple lab-made opal set in the center.

"Mom's favorite color is purple," Troy told Emma by way of explanation as she oohed over the necklace.

Emma frowned. "But I thought she was the Pink Ranger?" she asked, knowing full well her mother knew who the Graysons were.

"Trust me, you get tired of the same old color after awhile," Dana said with a knowing look. She pointed to Emma. "All right, lady, what did you get?"

"This was from Troy," Emma replied, holding out an 8x10 matted and framed print of a bright red dragon weaving in and out of some brown trees and green grass. She looked at Troy, noting the _Madison Rocca_ name in the corner. "I'm assuming the dragon is a Photoshop…?"

Troy shrugged while Carter and Dana exchanged a look. "That's up to your imagination to decide," he told Emma.

"Careful, she'll stare at that all day," Gwen warned. She held up a pair of pink fuzzy slippers. "These are from my daughter," she said. "They're beautiful. And I can't wait to wear them at work."

"At work?" Dana asked, and Gwen nodded. "The air conditioning is so high there, my feet are _freezing_!"

"What'd you get, Dad?" Troy asked.

Carter grinned and he held up two laminated pieces of paper. "Season tickets to the Mariner Bay Dolphins games," he told them. "From your dad and my dad," he added, looking at Dana.

"You think that's a hint they want us to come visit more?" Dana laughed.

"A not so subtle one," Carter agreed.

* * *

Elton Burley was happily humming to himself as he carefully pulled the Styrofoam from the package that had arrived the day before. He pulled it gently off the ends of the long barrel of the sleek black telescope he'd ordered for himself for Christmas. Just because Mr. Burley was a bachelor, it was no reason not to celebrate Christmas, that was his philosophy. And this way, every year, he knew exactly what he was getting.

Three cups of coffee later he had it assembled. It was a long way from night, but in the interest of science (of course!) he felt it necessary to test it out. He adjusted the settings and set it carefully on the window ledge of his living room. He cleaned his glasses quickly on his plaid pajama top and then put his eye to the lens.

He blinked. Once. Twice. "That's impossible," he whispered. He took his glasses off, and cleaned them again. Then he returned his eye to the viewing piece and closed his other eye.

He gasped. Then, he was running for the kitchen to get his phone. The telescope fell backwards off the window, crashing to the floor. The lenses shattered.

* * *

_Angel Grove_

"Hey, guys! Pizza's ready!" Cassie Johnson yelled into the throng of people sitting in their den. She pointed the pizza cutter at her husband and warned, "And don't even start!"

TJ Johnson held up both hands in surrender. "Start what?" he asked innocently, even though he knew full well what his wife meant. Cassie shook the utensil at him, and he grinned as he stood up, clapping Carlos Vallerte on the shoulder as he did.

"You still owe me ten bucks from last year," Carlos said. "I bet you that you couldn't go last year without saying it, and you did."

"I don't know what you're talking about, man," TJ shrugged. Carlos shook his head.

"I gotta go, we're getting ready for lunch," Andros told the blonde woman on TJ's computer screen. "Merry Christmas, Karone!"

A galaxy away, Karone Corbett waved back at him through the video chat. "Don't you mean Merry _Earth_ Christmas?" she asked her brother teasingly. "Technically it's still summer here!"

He grinned. "Old habits. Tell Mike and the others hello for us. NASADA's predicting a wormhole in the next couple of months, you should swing through!"

Karone laughed and pointed to the table behind her where a five year old boy chattered away, busily drawing something with black crayon. "If Mr. Christopher allows," she told her brother. "It'd be nice to see you guys!"

"Andros, dude, come on!"

Andros glanced back to the kitchen where TJ and Carlos were beckoning. "I guess I'm wanted," he told her. A hand reached up over his shoulder and a second face filled the screen.

"Yes, you are," Ashley Hammond told her husband. She waved at Karone. "Hi!"

"Hi yourself! I-"

The screen went blank. Andros frowned. "Must have lost the connection," he said, looking sideways at his wife.

At the same moment, TJ's and his cell phones started ringing off the hook, along with the Johnson home phone. Cassie reached for the land line as TJ and Andros grabbed their cells. "It's work," Andros said, nodding to the RESTRICTED showing on the screen. "This is Andros," he said.

TJ was already nodding. "Yes sir. We'll be right in." He looked at Cassie. "I'm sorry, hon, we've got to go." He was reaching for his NASADA jacket on his way out the door. Andros kissed his wife and then followed TJ to his car.

Cassie, Ashley, and Carlos were left standing in the kitchen. "So…" Cassie said. "Pizza, anybody?"

Ashley's eyes drifted to the window. "Suddenly I'm not hungry," she said quietly. She felt Carlos come and put a hand on her shoulder.

* * *

_Harwood_

A shrill beeping sound echoed through the kitchen as Carter slid the deck door back to hand a plate of burger patties to Dana. She frowned as Carter tugged his beeper from his belt and glanced at it. He looked at Dana. "911," he said.

Inside the kitchen at the table, Troy, Emma, and Emma's mother looked at each other worriedly. "I better go see what's up," Carter said. "I'm sorry, you guys."

"You're on call," Troy shrugged. "It happens."

"I'll keep a few frozen for you," Dana told him, kissing him swiftly on the cheek as he jogged past her through the kitchen. She heard his feet disappear into their bedroom.

Seconds later, a familiar chime to Troy and Emma's ears rang muted from Emma's jacket in the living room. Troy looked at his mother in alarm. Dana might understand them running off, but not Mrs. Goodall.

Luckily, Dana had them covered. "Hey, guys, I just realized, we're out of ketchup and relish. Troy, I think the super mart down the street is open until one…do you guys want to go grab some? You can take my car."

"Sure," Troy said calmly. He looked at Emma. "You're coming too, right?"

"I guess," Emma shrugged, trying to make it seem like it was slightly weird he was asking her to run to the store with her.

"You have a store in your neighborhood open on Christmas Day?" Gwen Goodall said. "That's amazing."

"Don't you hate how commercialized the holiday's become?" Dana replied, and the two of them began discussing that as Emma and Troy slipped outside with Dana's keys.

"What's wrong, Tensou?" Emma asked into her morpher.

" _Gosei needs all of you at the point ASAP!"_ the little robot chirped. Troy heard panic in his mechanical voice.

"We're on our way," he told him, and he pressed harder on the gas pedal.

* * *

"What is _that_?" Jake was asking when they ran, out of breath, into the command center a few moments later. Jake, Gia and Noah were crowded around one of the bright panels in the room, and now Troy and Emma joined them to see what they were looking at.

On screen, they could just make out space, with a few stars dotting the background. But right in the middle was a huge black void.

"That void is the main Armada Warship, helmed by Prince Vrak," Gosei told them. "It was picked up by satellites moments ago."

"No wonder Dad ran off so fast," Troy said. "NASADA probably put EMS on alert."

"We have another problem," Gosei intoned. A second panel lit up, and Troy turned to see…well, it would have been a butterfly if it had been even remotely appealing to look at. It was eight feet tall, with yellow eyes, nasty metal teeth, and serrated wings. "This is the leader of the Armada, Admiral Malkor."

"Let's go say hello," Gia suggested, and the others nodded. They teleported to the middle of the city. No sooner had they regained footing, Noah shouted, "Everybody _run!_ " and an explosion knocked them off their feet. The rangers scrambled for cover. Across the city, sirens wailed. Loud booms echoed through the buildings.

"What's happening?" Emma asked as she crouched beside Troy.

Troy put a hand on her head as he looked out. "The invasion is here," he said, and couldn't stop the tremor that shook him from head to toe.


	27. We Will Not Go Quietly

Troy looked at his team as they crouched behind a concrete wall. "This is it," he told them. "The Armada got tired of sending one guy at a time, so they're sending them all."

"Well, it's about time," Jake shrugged. "Been wondering when the fun was going to start." At Gia's look, Jake sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Can't help it," he admitted. "I'm scared."

To his surprise, Gia put a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah," she said. "Me too."

"This is it. This is what Gosei recruited us for," Troy said. He looked around at Noah and Emma, Gia and Jake. "They're threatening our planet. Our friends. Our family."

"Well," Noah said. "We can't have that." He straightened his shoulders. "I'm in," he told Troy. "Lead the way."

Emma placed a hand on Troy's knee and nodded. "Me too."

He got nods from Gia and Jake. "Okay then," Troy said. "Let's go meet the new neighbor." He stood up from their cover and stepped out to face Admiral Malkor.

"Glad you could make it rangers. Finally, we meet in person. I am Malkor."

"Yeah," Jake nodded. "We know."

"It's morphin' time!" Troy led the charge. Malkor was expecting it. Before Troy could slam his card into the morpher, Malkor had fired, engulfing the five teens in a ball of flame.

They came roaring through the fire in uniform. "Missed!" Gia announced.

A giant metal axe appeared in Malkor's hands. "My axe will cut you all down to size." He took a swing at Gia and Jake who had come at him, their own axe and claws in hand. Gia backflipped away and Jake shoulder rolled backwards, the axe barely missing his foot. Troy came next, sword in hand. The axe met the Dragon Sword with a clang of metal. The reverb shook Troy's arm and he dug his heels into the pavement. Emma came next, several shots from the Phoenix Shot showering Troy and Malkor with sparks. Noah added arrows from his Bowgun to the fray, and Troy felt one whizz past his face to hit Malkor in the shoulder. Malkor shoved Troy backwards with his axe. Troy had a moment to look at their foe. Malkor was largely undamaged. _Seriously? After all that!_

As if Malkor had heard him, he smirked, "Face it rangers, the fact is I possess greater power than you can imagine." He shook his head at them as they came to regroup. "Pathetic." He fired at them again, this time, the explosion hit them with more force, enough to knock them to the ground. "These are the rangers who defeated my generals?" He sounded amused.

"You're next!" Noah promised him, climbing to his feet.

Malkor laughed. There was a flash of blue lightning, and before Troy could tell the team to take cover, the lightning stretched across the plaza to them, zapping their suits. The shock sent them staggering…and then, to Troy's horror, their suits disappeared, leaving them standing, unmorphed, in front of the alien admiral.

Troy heard Emma swear. "The hell?" Jake added his own.

Malkor was laughing at them, again. "Beating you has been surprisingly easy. Your entire world will bow before me…starting with you."

"Never!" Troy promised. Under his breath, he told his team, "Give it a minute, and then let's morph again. He can't have fried them completely." The five of them took a fighting stance.

"You fools still think you can fight me?" Malkor wondered.

"You think one little electric glitch is gonna stop us? It's morphing time!" Gia yelled.

She slammed the card into her morpher. Nothing happened.

"Why isn't it working?" Emma asked, looking down at the morpher in her hand. "Why can't we morph again?"

"Oh, _crap_." This time it was Troy's turn, as Malkor readied his meteor shower again. Fiery rocks rained down around the plaza, sending the team scattering for cover. Pavement cracked and cement shattered like glass, raining debris down on the rangers. Troy felt stings of pain along his exposed arms, neck and face and he buried his face in his arms as a hot blast streaked over his head. He heard Emma and Gia scream, heard Noah cry out in pain from somewhere to his left.

 _This is it_ , Troy thought again. _We're dead._

* * *

The attack seemed like it lasted forever. But then, the plaza was silent, and Troy lifted his head gently off his arms. Everything hurt. He could smell burning hair and realized it was coming from him. Troy crawled out of his hiding spot to see Malkor standing in the center of the plaza, unharmed amid all the craters and still burning fires.

"Pathetic," Malkor informed Troy. "Your time here is finished. I would destroy you but that would be too quick of a death. And after all the trouble you've caused…I think I'll let you watch the destruction of your precious city, and then come back to finish you off."

With that promise, Malkor disappeared.

Troy got to his feet painfully, and looked around for the others. "Guys?" he coughed, looking around.

"Here," Jake said weakly, limping toward him. His sweatshirt was singed and his face was dark with dirt and smoke.

They found Noah a moment later, half hidden under a chunk of what used to be the plaza stairs.

"Where are Emma and Gia?" Noah asked, tucking his glasses into his polo shirt's pocket. They were useless.

"I don't know," Troy said. "Emma? Gia!" he yelled out for them, waiting. Around the city he could hear sirens and the alarms from the first responders. So he almost missed it when Emma's tired voice called his name from behind him, and they found the girls, soaking wet, from taking cover on the far side of a fountain that was now in pieces.

"You okay?" Troy asked, pulling Emma into a hug. She collapsed against him. "Fine. I think. Everything hurts."

"Yeah, I know," Troy replied. "Come on. We have to regroup. Let's get out of here."

He felt a tingling feeling in his arms and legs before the five of them disappeared in five rays of colored light, reappearing inside the command center at the Point. Tensou was chirping worriedly, and Noah gave the robot a weak pat on the head as the five of them sat down on the cave floor. Gosei's eyes flashed.

"I am relieved to see you are all right," he told them.

"We can't morph," Troy told Gosei. "We're screwed."

"Malkor used a weak EMP to temporarily sever your morphers from the Grid," Gosei explained. Tensou was busily buzzing around them, collecting their fried morphers. "But fortunately, I think we can reverse the effect."

"Far out," Jake rolled his eyes.

"If we can't even beat _him_ ," Gia said, "how are we going to stop an entire Armada?"

"We're going to cut the head off the snake," Troy said. "We have to defeat Malkor. If we can do that, they'll be without a leader. And that proves if we can beat their strongest guy-"

"Maybe the rest of the Armada won't want to mess with us," Emma finished it. She nodded. "It makes sense. We have to try."

"I'm game," Noah said. "Hand me my morpher…oh, wait," he said sarcastically. "It's gone the way of Atari and DOS."

Despite the direness of the situation…the team laughed. "Wow, Noah," Jake said, putting an arm around his friend. "You're such a buzzkill on this whole end of the world thing."

The five panels in the room that had originally bestowed their morphers to them now glowed, and they got to their feet. "What's going on?" Emma asked. The panels were showing a video feed of the sky over downtown Harwood. Suddenly, a massive projection of Admiral Malkor's face filled the blue sky.

"People of Earth!" his voice boomed. "I am Admiral Malkor. And your planet belongs to us."

"Like _hell_ it does," Troy bit. "Not while I'm still standing here."

"Your world crumbles in the wake of my power," Malkor continued.

"Let's give him some power back!" Tensou chirped, racing around the room with five Gosei morphers in his claws. Troy took his from the robot and felt the hum under his fingers. He grinned.

"Let's go get him, guys."

* * *

Malkor stood at Jessup Point, looking out over the city. His eyes drifted to the sky. The Armada was coming. Soon, it would be over. He just had to sit back and watch. Perhaps Prince Vrak would give him a promotion-

"Turn around and face us!"

Malkor turned, slowly, to see five newly-morphed Power Rangers standing behind him, each with their weapons drawn. "I should have killed you before. And yet you return for me to finish the job. Haven't you heard, your world is coming to an end?"

"Nah," Jake shot back, tightening his grip on his Snake Axe. "Must've missed that."

"Phoenix Shot!"

"Shark Bowgun!" Emma and Noah took aim at Malkor and fired. The shots hit true, but Malkor kept walking toward them as if nothing had happened. Troy leapt forward with his sword, but Malkor blocked it with one of his wings, and used a giant metal hand to grab Troy around the neck. He picked up the Red Ranger with an icy glare. "You. Are. Finished."

"We're _not_ finished!" Gia yelled at him. She had a Tiger Claw in one hand, her blaster in the other. She leapt forward, Jake beside her with his axe and the two of them pummeled Malkor. Malkor easily parried them and sent them colliding into each other. "Your weapons pale in comparison to my power. Behold!"

Malkor aimed for the visitor center at the trailhead of the park. It exploded into nothing. "Imagine what that would do to _you_ , Rangers," he growled at them.

Troy stood in front of his team. "We won't give up!" he informed Malkor. He was tired. Everything hurt. But he was _not_ going to let Malkor see that. "Your powers are _nothing_ compared to the human will to survive!" He looked at his team. "We're Earth's defenders and we never surrender!" And with that, they all charged together. Blaster shots. Swings from an axe and a sword. Gia raked her claws across his chest. Noah and Emma never let up on the assault of laser fire from their weapons.

Malkor staggered. "Don't give up!" Troy yelled, seeing it.

Malkor began to glow. The rangers kept attacking. "A bold effort," he ground out. "But useless!" A bright ball of energy grew from his chest, exploding into the team, sending them flying back and driving them to the ground. "How many times must I defeat you? A hundred? A thousand?"

"Keep…counting…" Emma hissed.

"You picked the _wrong_ planet," Jake growled.

"This is _our_ planet. Our home. And you can't have it!" Troy yelled. He climbed to his feet.

"Stay down," Malkor warned him.

Inside his helmet, Troy's mouth was set in a grim line. "No." He swung his Dragon Sword at Malkor's face. Malkor blocked with a hand, and used one of his wings to knock the Red Ranger to the ground in front of him. He put a large foot on Troy's chest and pressed down. Troy grimaced, but refused to cry out. "You have _no_ idea what's coming, Red Ranger," Malkor told him, leaning over him so his face was all Troy could see. "But you won't be around to see it." He raised his axe above his head, and brought it straight down.

Something stopped it inches from Troy's face, and he looked up to see four helmets, with a half-assembled Megaforce Blaster keeping the axe at bay. With a grunt and a yell, Emma, Gia, Noah and Jake lifted up, knocking Malkor backwards, and Troy scrambled out from under them, then added his sword to the weapon, completing it.

"Dynamic Victory Charge!" The Rangers fired, but Malkor parried the blast and sent it back at them. "Oh come _on_!" Jake yelled furiously as he climbed to his feet-again.

"Don't quit!" Troy yelled as he stood up.

Malkor stood in front of them, taunting them. He crossed his arms over his chestplate. "Well played, Rangers," he admitted. "You are formidable. But a wise leader always has a backup plan."

A shadow loomed over the rangers as Malkor grew to skyscraper size. "Sonofa….we can't even beat him when he's _normal_ , how are we gonna beat _that_?" Gia demanded, looking up at the giant Admiral Malkor.

"Fast," Troy said, pointing skyward. "We have another problem."

A dark speck was in the sky just above Malkor. But it was getting larger. "That is the Armada flagship," Gosei informed them. "And it's current trajectory suggests it is going to land in the city."

"It can't _land_ ," Noah said. "It's going to crush whatever it lands on!"

Malkor's voice boomed with a sinister laugh. "You pathetic humans have no chance. You _will_ bow down to me."

* * *

Carter Grayson shoved aside a newspaper dispenser and helped an older man wearing a suit to stand. "Can you move, sir?" When he nodded, Carter pointed. "They're setting up medical help at the mall. Go there now." Without another word, he was on to the next person. All 20 companies of firemen in Harwood were out in the city, even the guys who spent most of their time pushing paper, or in Carter's case, doing investigations post fire. They all had training that was needed now.

Sparks rained down from above, and a giant shadow loomed over the block. Carter looked up and blinked in surprise as a MegaZord foot came rumbling past him. "Go get him guys!" he yelled at it. It made him feel a little better. He was just about to go into the small café ahead of him when something else in the sky caught his eye. It reminded him of the movie _Independence Day_. He followed the ship with his eyes, watching to see where it was headed. His eyes widened and he was pulling out his cell phone.

"This is Carter Grayson with Ladder 12. You need to evacuate the hospital. Now!"

* * *

"We have to neutralize his axe," Troy told his team from high in the MegaZord cockpit. "If we can get it out of his hands, we should have a clear shot to finish him off."

"What about the ship?" Noah asked as he used his joystick to block Malkor's axe. The Zord shuddered from the brunt of the hit. "It's going to crush downtown."

"Oh," Jake said with a grin. "Oh! I have an idea. Get the axe out of his hand!"

Emma and Noah obliged. Emma feinted, and then Noah came up with a swing of the MegaZord's sword underneath Malkor's axe. He shoved the control all the way up and the shark arm, wedged under the axe, raised Malkor's arms above his head. "Go, Jake! Now!"

Gia and Jake used their controls. The feet of the megazord came off the ground and plowed into Malkor's exposed chest. "We're even with him in here," Troy said, satisfaction in his voice. "And the bigger they are-"

The kick sent Malkor flying into the air…directly into the path of the oncoming Armada flagship. The force sent him flying through the front of it…and halfway through it. "We've gotta move!" Emma yelled, as the flagship rumbled and shuddered. "It's going to blow!"

Troy powered the jets on the back of the giant robot into the air and away from the city, as pieces of the flagship started to rain down.

"We got him!" Jake yelled, pounding the console. "It's over!"

"Not quite," Emma said, noticing something below. "We need to land," she told them. "There's an army of loogies at the community college, and they're headed for downtown."

"All those people exposed down there…" Noah realized.

"Let's go help them!" Troy said. The Zord broke apart and the Rangers jumped out, disappearing in a flash as they teleported toward downtown.


	28. We Will Not Vanish Without a Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Absolutely I stole this chapter title and the last from "Independence Day."

When the rangers arrived at the arena, Robo Knight was there, blasting away at the platoon of Loogies that was surrounding the front gate.

"So _that's_ where you've been this whole time," Jake said. "We sure could've used you."

"Gosei knew you were able to handle Malkor," Robo Knight said simply. "He sent me here."

"Yeah speaking of, we just pulled a Will Smith on Prince Vrak and Admiral Malkor, so who sent these guys?" Jake asked, holding his fists up in a defensive stance.

"Hopefully, they're just Vrak's leftovers," Troy said. "Let's finish them off!" The five of them morphed again, and leapt into battle with Robo Knight at their side. Compared to Malkor, the foot soldiers were an easy opponent, but just as time consuming. Troy was so tired he could hardly move, but thankful for the extra power in the suit giving him a boost. He hoped it would hold out. He ducked, Emma rolled over his back and delivered a snap kick to two Loogies on his left.

* * *

Gwen Goodall was anything but calm when Dana had dropped her off at her home. "I promise, the kids are fine. Troy called. They're taking cover at the store," she lied, hating how easily it came. "Emma will be home soon," she added. "As soon as the attack is over. Stay in your home and find someplace safe," Dana said. She looked at the sky. "It'll be over soon." _I hope_. Without another word, she jumped into her car and sped toward the hospital. Downtown was a wreck, so she gave up trying to get close to the hospital and decided to walk it. A fire truck ripped past her, sirens blaring, and she found herself looking in the windows for a familiar face.

Her phone rang. _Cell service? Seriously?_ She pulled it from her pocket and looked at the caller ID. "Dad?" she asked as she ran.

" _Dana?_ " Bill Mitchell's voice came over the line. " _We're watching the news. What's happening?"_

"I got a call that they're evacuating the hospital's top floors and moving everyone down to the ground and basement floors," Dana said. "I'm on my way to help. Carter left an hour ago, and Troy…" she bit her lip. "The MegaZord took a beating, and I'm hoping the kids are all right. I haven't heard from him."

" _He'll be fine_ ," Bill said reassuringly. " _I've sent some of Lightspeed's personnel to Harwood, I don't know if they can get there, but they're coming to help_."

"I'm sure EMS will appreciate it," Dana said. "Dad, I gotta go, I'm almost there."

" _I love you. Be careful, Dana._ "

"Love you too, Dad," she replied. Then, she took a breath, and burst through the doors of the hospital. "All right everybody, where do I start?"

* * *

Noah sent a Loogie flying into a lightpole and it dropped to the ground "Was that the last of them?" he asked, looking around. The tailgate plaza looked empty.

"Looks like," Gia said, sounding relieved. "I think it's over."

"Wrong!"

The voice made Troy's body tense. He turned to see a female robot striding purposely toward them, and he narrowed his eyes. "Metal Alice," he said coolly.

"She's still around?" Noah said in surprise.

"I have been waiting for you to show up here." The robot glared at him through piercing blue eyes. "It's not over," she told Gia, eyeing the Yellow Ranger. "In fact, it's far from it."

"Vrak's gone, Malkor's dead, and you're next," Gia hissed back.

Metal Alice ignored her. "As you remember Red Ranger," she continued, turning to Troy, "I design robots-"

"I remember," Troy cut in, clenching a fist.

"Good," Metal Alice said, unfazed by the interruption. "I'd like to introduce you to my latest project. My greatest creation."

A shadow appeared behind her. A black and chrome and copper and blue…thing…. "What the-" Noah began.

"That looks like-" Emma's jaw dropped.

"Vrak!" Jake gaped. Because it _was_ Vrak, Troy noted, it just…wasn't _all_ Vrak. Some of him was recognizable. Some of him was robotic parts. It reminded him of the Borg from _Star Trek_ , in episodes he'd watched with his grandpa.

Alice crossed her arms over her chest. "Quite a _mega_ transformation, isn't it?" she hissed at them. "My master was brilliant, but shared your greatest weakness-flesh." She gestured to Vrak. "That's no longer a problem."

"That can't be…he blew up with the ship!" Troy said.

"I found him in the wreckage of the ship. His mortal body was irreparable. But his mind could be salvaged. He knows who his enemies are." Metal Alice pointed. "You." She turned to Vrak. "They tried to annihilate you. Destroy the Power Rangers!"

Vrak turned toward them. He raised a hand, shaped a bit like a cannon. "Destroy." The cannon exploded and blew the rangers across the sidewalk and into the parking lot.

"He's definitely stronger," Noah groaned, rolling over onto his side.

"He's a cyborg," Troy replied, clutching his side as he moved to sit up. "Come on, guys, don't quit. Ultra Mode!" Troy morphed into the secondary, more powerful armor, and charged toward Vrak, swinging his staff at him. Vrak caught it with a hand and batted it away. Troy came back with a right cross, but Vrak dodged it easily.

"I can match every move you make," the cyborg Vrak intoned. "But you cannot match mine." He parried away an arrow from Noah's bow gun, swatted Jake's axe out of the way. "I do not need rest. I do not need to quit. I will wear you down. And then destroy you."

"We'll see about that!" Troy motioned for the others and they faced the cyborg in a line. "Ultra Power! Dynamic Strike!"

Robo Knight added his own. "Vulcan Cannon!"

The combined blast knocked Vrak a few feet backward, but he remained on his feet. "Cyber Blast," Vrak called on his own attack, which, to Troy's surprise, merged with their own, and fired _back_ at them. "No!" he heard Emma cry out as he felt himself tumbling backwards, slamming into a car. He hit the ground _hard_. His suit disappeared in a burst of light and the pain coursed through his body.

Metal Alice stood in front of them, Vrak at her side. "Can't you see when you're beat?" she asked disdainfully. "Perhaps it's time to make our point." She pointed, and Troy followed her finger to the top level of the stadium. Something glinted in the afternoon light…cylindrical, with a blue pointed tip…

"It's a missile," Noah gasped, recognizing the shape first.

"If you try to destroy us, that missile will blow up that building full of people." Troy followed the trajectory and his eyes widened. Assuming it stayed on course…the nearest building was the hospital.

He climbed to his feet, leaning against the car for support. "Why?" he asked her. "They didn't do anything! Fight _us_!"

"I may only be a robot, but I have learned something about you, Rangers. Your greatest weakness is your compassion for others. I have you right where I want you." Her face twisted into a smile. "You were so sure you defeated my master. Now, it appears as though _you're_ the ones who are defeated."

"You won't win!" Emma said.

Metal Alice simply shook her head. "I wouldn't be so sure." With that, she pressed a button on a small remote in her hand, and then she and Vrak disappeared. There was a rumble that rocked the pavement under the rangers' feet. And then, the missile was away.

"Morph! Morph now!" Troy yelled. In a flash, the team was in uniform, and Robo Knight had transformed into his Lion Zord. The Megaforce Rangers climbed on top of it. "We have to take it out! Dynamic Victory Charge!" Troy yelled as they assembled their weapons. "Fire! Fire now!"

* * *

On the ground floor of the hospital, Dana was knocked off her feet. The windows of the ground floor blew out and the air was filled with the sound of shattering glass.

She stood up and made her way over to the broken windows and angled her neck skyward. A giant silver Zord circled the building before disappearing.

"What was that?" someone asked her.

Dana closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as she caught a glimpse of a red helmet in the light. "Something that could've been a lot worse," she replied. "Come on, let's keep moving."

* * *

It took them an hour-an _hour_ , Troy seethed, that they didn't have to lose right now, to track down Metal Alice again. They found her down near the docks…except this time, she wasn't alone. Vrak was with her, and standing next to both of them-

"Who the hell is _this_ now?" Gia asked as they took in the seven foot tall, white metal, samurai-looking warrior.

"Don't these guys ever _quit_?" Emma asked.

"Hey, Metal Alice, who's your friend?" Jake asked, pointing. He turned sideways to look at Noah. "Does it freak anybody else out that he doesn't have any eyes?"

"Dude, he doesn't have a _face_ ," Noah whispered back.

"I am a preview of what's to come," the metal giant said.

"We've got to split up," Troy decided. "Robo Knight, you've got Metal Alice. Robot on robot. Gia, take the others and go after Vrak." His eyes narrowed. "And I'll take the new guy."

"Right!" Gia pointed at Vrak. "You're ours, Vrak!" She led the charge, Jake and Noah following after her. Troy heard the clang of metal on metal and knew Robo Knight was attacking Alice.

"Troy."

He turned at the sound of his name to see Emma standing behind him. "Emma…what-"

She threw her arms around him. "Be careful," she said.

He returned the hug. "I promise. You too. Now go!" He waited until he heard Emma's boots fading on the pavement, and then turned his attention to the metal samurai.

"You misguided human. You have no idea what you are up against."

"And you aliens keep on underestimating us," Troy shot back. His Dragon Sword appeared in a flash of light in his hand, and he walked slowly toward the white robot. "What exactly _are_ you?

"I am the first of many."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Just so you know, you sound like a fortune cookie." With those words, he attacked.

* * *

Emma tucked and rolled as Vrak's blue laser boomerangs came flying toward them. "Move, move!" Gia was yelling. "He can't hit a moving target!" She flipped out of his path and came up next to Emma. "Emma. Are you okay?"

"Fine," Emma replied. "So far." She gave her friend's arm a squeeze. "You?"

"'m okay. I hope Troy's okay," she said.

"Yeah," Emma whispered as Gia pulled her blaster and fired at Vrak. "Me too."

* * *

An explosion lit up the building behind Robo Knight and the robot dove out of the way. He came up in a roll and spotted Metal Alice on the ground. She'd underestimated the power of her own bomb, and the shockwave had caught her too.

"Metal Alice!" Robo Knight advanced on the female robot, his blaster aimed dead center at her chest. "I will destroy you." He fired, but the blast landed on Vrak instead, who had stepped in front of his creator.

"Damn!" Jake swore, watching the exchange. "He almost _had_ her!"

"Let's help him out!" Noah said. The five of them switched to Ultra Mode and charged at the stunned cyborg prince, the tips of their staff catching him where Robo Knight's shot had meant to go.

* * *

Troy was running for his life. Behind him, fire and smoke swallowed the warehouse and chased him toward the entrance. He could feel the heat. _Don't stop. Run, Troy!_ He sprinted from the warehouse and somersaulted behind a shipping container. The December air felt wonderful.

"Do you want some more?" the samurai robot asked him. Without waiting for a response, his chest opened and small projectile missiles exploded from it. But Troy had seen it coming. He rolled out of the way of the missiles and came at him from the side.

"How about _you_?" he questioned, swinging his staff and firing his blaster at the same time. The resulting sparks and explosions engulfed the samurai. The force knocked Troy over the top of the samurai and he rolled out into the cement, coming up in the middle of his team, who'd been coming to help.

"Geez, Troy, are you okay?" Noah asked as Emma helped their leader to his feet.

 _I don't think I can take much more_. "Fine," he lied. He turned to face Metal Alice, Vrak and the samurai. To his surprise, they vanished into thing air. "No!" he fumed. "We don't have time for this! Gosei, can you get a lock on their signals?"

It was Tensou who answered. "They're at the beach!" he reported.

Noah frowned. "That was too easy," he told Troy. Troy nodded in agreement. "It could be a trap."

"It's probably a trap," Troy agreed. "But we've got to go anyway." He looked around at his team. "Let's end this."

Noah had guessed right. The cyborg, the robot and the white samurai were waiting for them on the ledge overlooking the beach. "This will be our final duel and the _end_ of Earth's resistance!" Vrak said.

"Your threat will be neutralized," Robo Knight said simply. The others nodded.

Troy lead the charge. He grabbed his sword and took off after Vrak. Gia and Jake attempted to use their earth elements to crush him under the rocks. The rocks exploded and Vrak stepped through. Emma followed with a burst of wind, and Noah with a geyser of water. They had no effect. Troy brought his sword down toward Vrak's chest, but Vrak shoved him away easily, knocking him to the dirt. "Your resistance is wasted energy," Vrak told them. "I have decided to keep all of you alive so you can witness the destruction of your Earth." With a burst of energy, he fired at them, dematerializing their suits in five bursts of light. Robo Knight was knocked to the ground, where he lay. Sparks burst from his back. "Your despair and anguish will snuff out your _pathetic_ human spirit." With those words, Vrak disappeared again, leaving the rangers on the beach.

"What do we do, Troy?" Jake asked him.

Troy got to a sitting position-all the farther his body would let him. "Earth's defenders…never surrender," he said quietly.

But he was having a hard time believing it.


	29. Living to Fight Another Day

They sat on the beach, staring out into the waves. Far enough from town that they couldn't hear the sirens. Only silence. Around them, a few patches of grass and shrubs were still smoldering from the sparks emitted from the fight, emitting a low haze around them. The surf broke on the beach, coming close to Troy's shoes, but he barely noticed it. His eyes were on the sky.

They were coming.

He wondered if his parents were okay. His dad was probably in the thick of the destruction downtown, running into some building threatening to fall on its foundation. It wouldn't matter that the whole of downtown could come crashing onto his head, Carter Grayson wouldn't quit until everyone was safe and there wasn't a breath left in him. And his mom…Dana Grayson would put her patients first. There would be no other option. He thought of Ernie, at the mall. Of Mr. Burley. Of Jordan, and Howie, and their other classmates from school. Where were they? Were they safe at home?

He blinked when he realized Emma had been calling his name, and he turned to face her. She was hugging her arms to her chest to keep warm in her pink t-shirt and jeans. A few cuts and bruises dotted the skin Troy could see. "Sorry," he apologized quietly. "Just thinking."

"I know," she replied. "I was just checking to see if you were still with us."

"More or less," he replied.

"Maybe not for much longer," Jake muttered under his breath. Gia hit him in the arm with a reproachful look, and he threw his hands in the air. "What? Look around. There's a massive alien army coming. There's only five of us." He looked at Troy. "Your family said that if it got to be too much we'd have help. So where's the help?" he demanded.

"We can do this," Troy told him, but honestly, he wasn't so sure anymore. Had his father ever felt this way? Totally overwhelmed? No idea what to do?

"Yeah, 'cause we're doing such a bang up job," Jake grumbled.

"Do you remember what you said the first day of school?" Emma asked Troy. He shook his head-that seemed so long ago. "Burley asked us what species would outlast all other species, and you said us. Humans."

He looked at her, wondering where the conversation was going. "Metal Alice said being human was our greatest weakness," she continued, turning so she was facing everyone. Robo Knight stood silently behind them. She didn't know if he was listening or not. "But I think it's our greatest asset."

"What do you mean, Emma?" Gia asked her best friend.

"We have hope," Emma said simply. "That sets us apart from anything else on the planet. We have hope that things can be better. That we can be better." She stood up and offered a hand to Troy. "We _can_ do this," she repeated. "We _will_ do this."

Troy stared at her hand for a moment. Then, he took it, and let Emma pull him to his feet. "She's right," he said, turning to Gia, Noah and Jake. "It's not over. Not while we're still standing here. For our families…our friends…we can't stop now." He turned his eyes back to the sky. "This is _our_ planet!" he yelled. "Do you hear me? It's _ours_! And you _can't_ have it!"

Robo Knight was standing. "Red Ranger," he said, alerting Troy. Troy looked at Robo Knight, then out into the water. Something was moving in the deeper water.

"I think they heard you," Gia told Troy, and he nodded.

"Good," he said, nodding firmly. Something streaked overhead with a low whine. A silvery ship. A ray burst from the bottom, and a platoon of loogies appeared on the beach ahead of them. Another ship flew overhead, and dropped some more. Out in the water, the first of the robots broke the surface. Silver and copper, with cylindrical bodies.

"There's so many," Noah whispered.

"Be ready for anything," Troy told his team. He pulled his morpher out. "Ready?"

"Ready," Emma replied instantly.

Gia nodded. "Let's do this."

Jake pulled out his power card. "We got this," he said, more to himself than anyone.

Noah clapped him on the shoulder. "Hell yes, we do." He grinned.

Troy returned the smile. "All right then. It's morphing time!" His suit appeared in a flash of light and he summoned both his sword and his blaster. "Get off our planet," he growled at the loogies, and with that, they attacked. Emma and Noah retreated to a higher point, and used the bowgun and the Phoenix Shot to snipe at the loogies from above. Jake and Gia worked in tandem with their rock-controlling powers, creating small earthquakes and rockslides to throw them off balance. The robots in the water loomed closer. Robo Knight was using the Vulcan Cannon to take out a few, but once they figured out he was firing at them, were returning fire, so he had to take cover. Troy dodged inbetween the loogies, cutting two with his sword, destroying three with blaster shots. He moved like a man possessed. "We have to get rid of these guys first, and then take out those robots!"

"They gotta go," Emma agreed over the comms, and she nailed a loogie dead center in the chest, knocking it into another, and Troy took them both out with his sword. They fell to the ground, where they were buried by an avalanche of rock that Gia pulled off the hillside.

A moment later, the beach was cleared, save for the incoming platoon. But to their surprise, at the last moment, the robots disappeared. "What the hell?" Gia asked.

"Did we win?" Jake asked hopefully.

"Not likely," Noah said. "Look!" He pointed. Above the rangers on the ledge stood Vrak, Metal Alice and the white samurai robot.

Vrak spoke first. "You are more resilient than we thought."

"Duh," Jake retorted. "You're just now figuring that out?"

"You'll have to be destroyed. It is no longer an option to keep you alive."

"Today is _your_ last, Vrak!" Troy promised. "Ultra Mode!" He looked at his armored teammates, and Robo Knight. "This is it. Don't quit. Everything we have. This ends here."

"We're with you, Troy!" Jake told him.

Troy narrowed his eyes at Vrak. "All right then. Let's _go_ Megaforce!"

He missed the smirk in Alice's face, the flash of blue in her eyes change to a slightly darker shade. Missed her saying, "Run, Rangers. Right into your destruction."

* * *

The rangers didn't bother to try to wear Vrak out first. Troy called for the Megaforce Blaster straight out of the gate, and they aimed it at Vrak, who wasn't bothering to move. "I have a bad feeling about this," Gia said.

"Why's he just standing there?"

"Too late now," Troy said. "Fire!" The Victory Charge leapt forth like it was alive, bearing down on Vrak.

Vrak absorbed the hit. The power surged into his cyborg body and disappeared. "What?" Troy gasped.

"No!" Emma cried.

A light glowed in Vrak's chest. It got brighter, and brighter, and then suddenly, it burst out, wrapping the rangers in their own charge. Troy couldn't see anything but light. But he felt it when his back hit the beach-without a suit. It hadn't just knocked them from Ultra Mode. It had knocked them completely out of morph. He hit the beach and rolled awkwardly over his shoulder, crashing into Jake who was sprawled behind him. Troy reached to grab for his morpher and picked up a smoldering, melted piece of metal.

"Our morphers!" Noah said. "They…they're useless!"

"Completely fried," Gia said, holding hers in front of her eyes.

She locked eyes with Troy. "What do we do?" she asked him.

"It's _your_ last day, Red Ranger," Vrak tossed Troy's words back in his face.

"Now that you are powerless…mankind _will_ fall to us," the white robot announced.

"Now would be a good time for Earth's defenders to give _up_ ," Metal Alice growled. She looked at the white robot. "Messenger, would you like the honors as the prince's envoy?"

"It would be my pleasure," he said, and his chest piece opened up, revealing the missile cache inside.

"We're sitting ducks," Noah whispered. "We're dead."

"Not. Today," Robo Knight said with a dangerous metal hum. Troy looked up in surprise to see Robo Knight standing in front of them, between them and the Messenger.

"You could have joined us, Robo Knight," the Messenger said. "But you chose to fight alongside them. You have sealed your fate."

Robo Knight turned to Troy. "Your morphers. Give them to me. Quickly."

"But they-they don't-" Robo Knight's eyes flashed dark red, and Troy handed over the melted piece of plastic.

Robo Knight pulled his Vulcan Cannon and quickly fired at the Messenger, catching him off guard. Troy handed over the rest of the morphers, and Robo Knight held them against his chest.

The Messenger fired a blast of energy, engulfing their robot ally. "No!" Troy screamed, getting to his knees. "Robo Knight!"

The blast knocked Robo Knight to his back. He fell, dead weight, to the sand. Troy scrambled on his hands and knees over to him as the others struggled to stand. Troy knelt over the robot. Robo Knight's eyes flickered. He moved his arm from his chest and a compartment popped open. Inside, Troy's morpher gleamed back at him. "I…" Troy pulled it out. It looked as good as new. "What did you do?" he asked Robo Knight.

The robot's eyes flickered, then sputtered to life. "I used my internal systems to power your morphers.

"Your internal systems?" Troy clarified. "But, I don't-"

"I do," Noah said quietly. "He used his internal processing to transfer his power to our morphers." He looked solemnly down at Robo Knight. "He's dying."

"Why, Robo Knight?" Troy asked. "Why would you do that?"

"Because," Robo Knight said. His mechanical voice was so low Troy almost missed the next words, "you are my friends."

His eyes flickered. "Take this," he said, holding up his blaster with his free hand.

Troy took the blaster and gripped the handle tightly. "I'll bring it back to you," he swore. He stood up and faced the Messenger. "You're going to pay for that," he hissed at him. In a flash, without even using his card, Troy morphed, straight to Ultra Mode. He stepped forward, leveling the blaster at the Messenger. He felt a rush of energy as the others morphed to stand beside him. "Ultra Dynamic Strike," he commanded, and the others assembled the Megaforce Blaster in Ultra Mode. Troy connected Robo Knight's blaster to it and stared down the barrel. "For Robo Knight," he whispered, and then, loudly, "Fire!"

The combined blast's kickback sent the rangers skidding backwards in the sand, and they dug their heels in to keep from falling. The Messenger exploded under the combined attack, falling to the beach in pieces and bolts. The special weapons vanished, leaving the rangers standing, still morphed, on the beach.

"Just enough for one final strike," Troy said. He turned. "Thanks Ro-" He stopped cold. Robo Knight's eyes were blank. "No. _No_!"

* * *

Ahead of them, Metal Alice gave a piercing yell. "No one is leaving this place today!" She attacked, leaving the rangers to scramble for cover. Troy drew his Dragon Sword, absolutely livid. Metal Alice was angry. And that would work to his advantage. She wasn't processing clearly. Troy stepped out in front of her. She swung at him wildly with a fist. Troy raked his Dragon Sword in a diagonal cut, from her shoulder to waist.

He heard Vrak give a muted cry as Metal Alice dropped to her knees. Then, she exploded in a fireball.

The sound that came from Vrak was unlike anything Troy had ever heard before. He turned to the rangers, his cyborg eyes flashing. "You _will_ be destroyed. The Armada is coming. And you'll be overwhelmed." He lifted an arm, pointing a finger above their heads.

"As will you, my prince."

Troy's head jerked, and they turned to see the largest piece left of the Messenger-his head-was speaking. "Must be a backup program," Noah suggested.

"Your new body will be unrecognizable," the Messenger was telling Vrak. "Your family and the Armada will not know you. You should go into hiding, my Prince," he concluded.

With that, the head gave a final sputter, and went silent. Vrak stared at the head for a few moments, and then he turned to the rangers. Troy dropped into a defensive stance, unsure what he would do.

"If I can't do it myself, I take comfort knowing that you won't live much longer." Vrak lifted his head, and then without another word, disappeared.

Troy followed Vrak's eyes to the sky.

The sky was littered with Armada ships. There were so many of them that he could barely see what was left of the fading sun. In the water, more of the robots appeared, heading for the beach. Purple colored soldiers with silver helmets dropped out of the sky and onto the beach and walked mechanically toward them. Something exploded on their right, raining sand and rock.

"Run," Troy said, then, louder, " _Run_!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're keeping track, this is the final episode of "Power Rangers Megaforce."  
> Coming up in the back half of this epic, lots more Ranger Cameos, more character development, great mentor (NOT Gosei) talks, inside jokes aplenty and much more!


	30. Aftermath

Shadows were falling as Christmas Day faded into December 26th. Fires raged around Harwood. Emergency sirens wailed and hadn't stopped for almost a full 24 hours. The city was in shambles. Malkor's rocket attacks may not have had any intended target, but they had done enough damage that it would take months, if not years, to rebuild. Flashing blue and red lights echoed off what remained of the downtown buildings and dust and dirt filled the air, giving the whole area an apocalyptic vibe.

Dana Grayson was exhausted. She held the door open to the basement level of the hospital as two of her colleagues squeezed past her, carefully holding an older man in a chair carry. The man held an oxygen tank in his lap. "Ask Dr. Hardwick which room to put him in," Dana told them as they came by her. They gave her a curt nod and disappeared. Dana sank down onto the stairs as the door closed behind them, leaving her in silence.

Somewhere, out in the city, her husband was doing the same thing she was doing-rescuing people unlucky enough to have been downtown on Christmas Day. She hadn't heard from Carter at all. She was worried. The former firefighter and Red Ranger could handle himself, she knew, but this was different. This wasn't anything like Queen Bansheera. This was Bansheera on a magnitude of about a thousand. She hadn't been this scared since they had been trapped in the Aquabase underwater almost eighteen years ago.

 _Eighteen_ …the number made her think of Troy. Her son was out there somewhere too, with four other teenage heroes fighting off the coming invasion. At least he wasn't alone. Never in a million years had she thought Troy would become a Power Ranger, or be on the front lines. She hadn't heard from him either, not since she'd seen the explosion in the sky next to the hospital. There were shattered windows on the top three floors as proof that whatever it had been could have been a lot worse.

The door to the stairwell burst open and Dana jerked. "Dana?" a voice asked, and she stood up and collapsed into the arms of her husband. Carter pulled off his department-issued helmet and let it fall to the floor. "Thank God," Carter said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I've been trying to get here, but every time I got close, someone else would need me and I'd have to go." He held her out at arms' length. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Fine. Tired. I could use a serious shot of caffeine right about now," she confessed. She looked at him. His gray eyes looked tired, and his face was streaked with dirt and sweat. "You look like hell."

Carter choked out a laugh. "I love you too," he said in response. Then, seriously, "Have you heard from Troy?"

Dana shook her head. "No. I saw some kind of Zord earlier, but that's all."

"Yeah. I saw the MegaZord," Carter replied. "Right before pieces of the alien ship started crash landing downtown. Luckily, it's a holiday, there weren't too many people around." He smiled darkly. "Guess we should be grateful for that, huh?"

"Small favors," Dana said quietly, and he nodded.

"Let's go see if there's any coffee in this building, huh?" he suggested. He grasped his wife's hand and led her out onto the basement ward. Dana pointed to the ramp at the middle of the floor and he led her up into the lobby. The air was dark, the only light coming from the backup system. If it wasn't essential, it wasn't on.

A mechanical grinding met their ears. Dana glanced around the lobby of the hospital. There were people huddled in groups on the carpet, crouched in corners. She looked at Carter, her head cocked sideways, listening to the sound. "What _is_ that?" she asked.

Carter shook his head. "No kind of machine I know of," he said. They picked their way across the lobby and looked down the street.

Something was coming toward them in the street…the grinding grew louder. Then, they came through the smoke. The heads were metal, the bodies were a strange purple color. They moved with a purpose.

"More?" Dana whispered, and Carter nodded. He felt his body tense, felt the twitch in his wrist where his Lightspeed morpher had been strapped once upon a time. Felt the hairs stand on the back of his neck the same way they had all those years ago. He looked at Dana. "Guess we're both coming out of retirement this time," he said.

She nodded grimly, looking down the street. "Hopefully it's like riding a bike," she said. She took off her heels and set them aside. Then, she looked at her husband. "Let's do this," she suggested.

"Fancy meeting you here!" a voice called out, and Carter jolted in surprise. The jovial voice seemed so foreign in this setting. He turned around, and his face broke into a huge smile.

Joel Rawlings came sauntering toward them, and with him came Chad Lee, and Kelsey and Ryan Mitchell. "Couldn't let you have all the fun," Joel said as he came to stand next to them.

"The Lightspeed personnel my dad said he was sending," Dana said with realization. _Thank you, Dad!_

"As soon as we heard we came running," Ryan confirmed. "No way were you facing this by yourselves."

"Well, you're right on time," Carter said. "Nice to see you guys."

"Likewise," Kelsey said. Then she smiled. "So…what are we waiting for?"

"Call it, Carter," Joel said, touching the brim of his hat with a two finger salute. Carter turned to face the street full of soldiers.

"Rescue ready," Carter confirmed, and the Lightspeed team attacked. Carter threw a haymaker at one of the 'bots and grimaced when it hit hard metal. "Damn, that's a little harder than a Batling," he groaned. He would've killed for his blaster.

Something came flying through the air, knocking the soldier out of the way. A blur of black and red. Carter's jaw dropped as his son stood up on the sidewalk next to him. "Troy!" Carter cried in relief, wrapping his son in a hug. Troy returned it. "Where's the rest of your team? Are you guys okay?"

"We split up," Troy replied. "I was heading for the hospital."

"Where's your suit?" Dana asked as she picked her way through the fight. Their old teammates were holding their own.

Troy frowned. "It comes and goes," he replied. "We…we're having a little issue with power at the moment," he said. "Let me try again." He stepped back from his parents and pulled out his morpher, dinged and dented, but functioning. "Go go Megaforce!" he yelled, and the suit enveloped him. He popped the visor on his helmet. "I'll handle these guys," he said. "You guys should fall back and take care of the hospital."

Carter couldn't help the pride he felt. His son was taking charge like a general. "Will do. Stay safe, son."

Troy nodded. "I will," he said. His mother hugged him, and then they were gone. Troy turned to face the oncoming soldiers. "Bring it on," he whispered.

* * *

Emma picked her way through the pitch black mall. The doors to the parking garage had been forced open, no doubt by some of the soldiers-Gosei had called them X-borgs. The glass skylight was in pieces around her feet and she had given up trying to be sneaky about ten minutes ago-there was glass everywhere, so there was no point in trying to tiptoe over it like a Looney Tunes cartoon.

It was creepy. The mall was completely silent and pitch black. The rangers had split up last night with the promise to meet back at the command center at daybreak, no matter what. She hadn't heard from anyone since they'd split up in the forest. She was worried for everyone.

She heard the mechanical sound of the X-borgs around the corner, and she huddled in the doorway of a Joe's Crab Shack before poking around the corner. X-borgs. And they were headed for Ernie's Brain Freeze. _Why would they be….oh no_. Emma came around the corner and delivered a flying kick to the backs of the robots. They turned, but she had already ducked and swept their legs out from under them. Reaching for a piece of the metal frame of the skylight that was near her feet, she swung at the two X-borgs like a Major League slugger, spinning one sideways and down to the floor, the other she banged on the top of the head and he dropped like a sack of potatoes. Hoping they were down for the count for the moment, she picked her way over to Brain Freeze. Ernie's glass windows and doors were shattered and the doors were off their hinges. "Is there anyone in here?" she asked aloud, stepping towards the counter.

"Y-yes," came Ernie's accented voice from behind it. Emma came around and helped him stand. "Are you okay, Ernie?" she asked him.

The proprietor nodded. "Just a little shaken," he admitted.

"They're handling small medical emergencies down at the opposite end," Emma told him, putting an arm around him. "Are you okay to get there on your own?"

"I think so, but what about those…things?" Ernie asked.

"The mall is clear," Emma said. "Safe, for now." She started walking in the opposite direction. "Be safe, Ernie!" she called over her shoulder. He gave her a two-fingered wave as she disappeared out of sight.

Despite the situation, Ernie was giddy. "The Pink Ranger knows my name!" he said gleefully.

* * *

School was normally one of the places that Noah Carver felt safe, but in the pitch black of night, it was just as scary as anywhere else. He picked his way through the halls. Banks of lockers had fallen off the walls, and there was books, paper and general school supply chaos all over. As he came down the hall by the computer lab, an X-borg suddenly appeared in his line of vision. Instinctively, Noah lashed out, catching it in the approximate area of the solar plexus. "Looking for someone?" he taunted it. As it staggered back, he reached down and grabbed the first thing he could get his hands on-which happened to be a Biology textbook. He threw it at the X-borg, hitting it in the head with a loud metal clunk. "Someone found you," he told it as it collapsed to the tile. He made his way down to the computer lab door and forced it open. "Anybody in here?" he asked. It seemed silly to ask, but there had been more people hunkered down at the school than he thought there would be, considering the holiday. But then, if they'd been caught outside, the school was the closest shelter. Two students poked their heads up from behind an overturned table. Noah had seen them around-a pair of seniors. "Are those things gone?" the girl asked. Noah thought her name was Kayla. He nodded. "Yeah."

"I thought they were gonna get us," the boy said, helping Kayla stand.

"Look for other people that might be hiding." Noah ordered. His voice was quiet. "Stay strong. You can do this." Without another word, he left them. Rays of pink light were starting to streak over the horizon through the windows. It was time to go meet the others.

_If there were still others to meet…_


	31. Super MegaForce

Gia and Jake stumbled into the command center's main room at about the same time. "Are you guys okay?" Tensou wheeled over to them. The robot didn't have much for features, but Gia would have sworn the little robot was worried for them.

"Fine," Jake said. He looked up at the wall to Gosei. "We tried teleporting. The Armada must have done something to scramble signals." He closed his eyes and sat down on the wall. "Those X-borg things are all over the place, but I don't think any of them followed us."

At the word 'followed', they heard footsteps echoing down the hall. To Jake's relief, Noah came in next. Gia gave him a hug, and Jake was on his feet instantly. "So good to see you guys," Noah told them both.

"Likewise," Jake said. "I don't like this whole not knowing where everybody's at thing."

"I'm glad you're okay!" Tensou buzzed up to Noah, rubbing his leg like a cat would.

"Me too, Tensou," Noah patted the robot on the head. "Me too." The robot was practically purring. He turned to Jake and Gia. "Where are Emma and Troy?"

"Here," Emma said, as she stepped into the room. "It's rough out there. Sorry it took so long." She and Gia exchanged a hug. "I'm glad you're safe," she told Gia.

"Can't get rid of me that easily," Gia replied with a forced smile.

"There are squads of those Xborgs everywhere," Noah reported. "But people are fighting back. We're not the only ones refusing to let these creeps beat us." He and Emma recapped what had happened at the school and the mall. Gia and Jake had been split up in various neighborhoods checking houses and homes for any sign of people.

"The earth has never seen an invasion like this," Gosei said, breaking into the conversations. "The villains you have fought were just the tip of the spear. The Armada is an overwhelming foe."

"And we just beat the opening act." Noah groused. "I can't believe that was just the warm up act!"

Footsteps echoed in the hall and Noah's mouth snapped shut. The others turned toward the only doorway, watching intently. Then, Troy stepped into the room. He was worn out and bleeding, but standing, and the others rushed to him. Emma slipped a shoulder under his arms to help him stay upright.

"Dude, like the first day of school, you're late," Jake teased him. "Way to make an entrance."

"Got hung up downtown," Troy told them. He managed a half smile. "It's cool though, Mom and Dad and the Lightspeed rangers are all over it."

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Your…parents?"

Troy looked at him. "Yeah…so?"

"Well they're…they're kinda…"

"If you say old, my Mom will kill you," Troy informed him. "If Uncle Joel doesn't get to it first."

There was a pause, and then even though it wasn't the most hilarious of situations, they all burst out laughing. It felt good.

"Rangers," Gosei's voice boomed in the cavern, and they turned, still smiling, to face their mentor. "It is timely that you bring up the Lightspeed Rangers, Troy, because with this new threat to Earth, it is finally time for you to tap into the power lining the walls of this chamber."

"Uh…" Gia looked at Gosei. "Okay?"

As it had the first day that they'd become rangers, the panels staggered in the room lit up again. Five sleek pieces of gold, black and red appeared on the panels. And as he had that first day nearly five months ago ( _Lord_ , thought Troy, _had it really only been five months?_ ) Troy stepped forward and picked it up, holding it in his hand.

"It's a morpher!" Tensou could barely contain his excitement. He rolled over to Noah as Noah was picking up his morpher off the blue panel. Noah grinned.

"These are your new morphers," Gosei confirmed. "Tensou has been working tirelessly on them since you became Rangers, and they are finally ready. With these, and your new Ranger Keys, you will be able to unlock a more powerful connection to the Morphing Grid."

"'Super' Megaforce?" Emma teased, exchanging a glance with Gia.

"Exactly," Gosei responded. "And that's not all. The figures that line the center are also keys to unlock new powers. By using them in your morphers, you will be able to access Legendary mode. The powers of all the rangers that preceded you."

"Wait," Troy said. He looked around at his team. "Are you saying…we can morph into all these rangers?" His gaze drifted over to the Lightspeed figures. "There's something kind of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' about that."

"This mode allows you to access their suits, powers, and weapons," Gosei clarified. "This mode is only temporary as it takes more power."

"It's never easy," Noah muttered. Jake laughed.

"The Armada's got a big surprise coming," Gia said confidently.

Jake raised his hand. "Uh. Problem." He shook his key at Gosei. "My key's not black. It's green." It was then that Troy noticed that Jake's panel, which initially had been backlit in black, was glowing a bright emerald green. The others looked at Jake, confused, and then turned to Gosei.

"Jake, there's a simple explanation for that," Gosei began, but before he could finish, alarms sounded and the command center rocked.

"Go, Rangers!" Gosei commanded, and the rangers took off, armed with their new keys. Jake was the last one out, calling, "This thing better work!" as he disappeared.

* * *

Morning light didn't make the destruction of downtown any better. If anything, the clear morning sunlight made it more eerie, as the smoky haze was now like a ghostly fog. The sirens had stopped but the emergency crews were still out. They were the only people, save for the Rangers and a few straggling civilians, out and about. As they stepped past the mall, the familiar metallic sounds greeted their ears. "I think we found them," Jake said.

Standing before them, apart from a platoon of X-borgs, was a tall metal robot. The metal body vaguely reminded Noah of the Terminator, but it was the ice blue eyes that made Troy nervous. They looked just like Metal Alice's.

"Hey!" Troy fired at the new metal robot staring them down.

"Leave those people alone!" Emma yelled. Gia and Noah were helping herd the clean up crews and rescue personnel out of the way and into the mall.

"At last," the robot said. "Rangers. A _real_ fight."

Troy stepped forward. "You'll regret saying that," he told it. He looked back at his team. "Ready, guys? Let's power up!"

* * *

Half a block away, Chad Lee rained kicks and punches on an X-borg, dropping it to the pavement, where it lay sparking. He looked up, assessing where the rest of the team was. Apparently, some things stayed with you. The six Lightspeed Rangers were the last ones standing. "Everybody okay?" Carter asked, easily slipping back into the role of team leader. He got nods and affirmation from everyone.

A faint voice echoed off the standing buildings. "Let's power up!"

Carter looked at Dana. "Was that-"

" _That_ was your son," Kelsey confirmed. She looked at Ryan, Chad and Joel and grinned. "Let's go!" She took off down the street.

Ryan followed her, clapping Carter on the back as he ran past his brother in law. "Just like old times!" he grinned. Carter shook his head as they ran after the Mitchells.

As they rounded the corner, they were standing behind the five Megaforce rangers, and facing a tall metallic robot.

"Hello Skynet," Joel muttered.

Troy pulled out his ranger key, and the others did the same. There was a slot in the center of the morpher, and he inserted it and turned. "Super Mega Mode!" he called out.

There was the familiar flashes of light, but when the light disappeared, Troy knew instantly that something was different. His suit was red, same as before, but, if he didn't know any better, he'd say they resembled-

"Pirates. We look like Pirates!" Jake said excitedly, checking out his new green suit. He turned to look at the others. "Cool!"

"Hey!" a voice yelled behind them, and the five of them turned to see the six Lightspeed Rangers standing behind them. Troy turned. "Dad?" he asked.

Carter jogged forward. "Troy?" He looked at the new suit. "Interesting," he said. "New digs, huh?"

"You also have new weapons, Rangers," Gosei reported over the comms. Troy held his left hand out and a blade appeared in it. Curved with a wicked red and black handle. "Sabres," Troy told them, holding his out in front of him.

"Sweet!" Noah pronounced.

Troy turned back to his father. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, Dad," he admitted, "but you guys need to go find someplace safe. There's people in the mall that could use some help."

Carter looked from the robot to his son. "Are you guys sure?" he asked.

Troy nodded. "We got this," he said with a smile, waving his sabre. "Don't worry."

"All right," Gia cut in. "Enough talk, more action" She flipped her sabre in her hand. "Let's go get 'em!" She swung her sabre, eliciting sparks from the X-borgs that had been unfortunate enough to be standing near her. "Back off!"

Emma surged forward, leaping onto a parked bar, balancing on a bent lightpole, and up onto a roof. As the X-borgs gathered beneath her, she jumped off the roof. "Super Mega Blaster!" She fired several shots at the X-borgs, felling them easily.

Dana grabbed Carter's arm and they took cover, jumping through the mall's front window and crouching down inside. "Did you _see_ that?" Dana asked.

"Pirates," Joel said. He grinned. "Now _that_ is cool. Much better than those peppermint candy-looking things we got."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "peppermint candy" remark was inspired by a No Pink Spandex podcast episode where they interviewed Sean CW Johnson (Carter Grayson). I didn't realize it until he said it in the interview...Lightspeed's uniforms really do kind of resemble flavored peppermint candy!


	32. Old is Cool Again

Noah found higher ground on a car. "There's a lot of you guys. But that's never stopped us before!" he said, flipping off the hood of the car, slicing with his sabre.

Jake backflipped off a car across the street ."I look good in green!" he decided, punching one X-borg in the chest and grabbing the arm of another, tossing it into yet another one.

"Jake!" Jake turned to see Troy running toward him. "Let's switch things up!" He tossed his blaster to Jake, who caught it even as he was throwing his sabre to Troy. Emma and Gia did the same, Gia tossing her blaster to Emma. The X-borgs were falling quickly. Noah kept slicing away with his sabre. "I feel like Errol Flynn!" he said with a laugh. "En garde!"

"What's that make us, the Five Musketeers?" Jake asked. "All for one and one for all?"

The final X-borg exploded in a shower of metal and sparks as Troy cut it down with two sabres. They turned to face the robot, who had been watching the fight disinterestedly.

"How about we try the next level?" He looked at his team, then over his shoulder to his parents. He smiled, and pointed at them. "This one is for you! Legendary Ranger Mode!" There was a flash, and Carter felt a wave of nostalgia and pride.

Standing before them were five Lightspeed Rangers. Troy wore his father's colors. Emma was in pink, Gia in yellow, Noah blue and Jake green.

"Lightspeed Rescue!" the five of them chorused together.

* * *

Carter was thrown back seventeen years to his first morph.

_Carter, Dana, Joel, Chad and Kelsey stood facing the fiery red magma monster. Carter pointed at him. "Hey! You with the hot temper!" As the monster turned, he looked at his team. Then, he threw his hands out in front of him."Lightspeed Rescue!" he yelled, turning the dial on his morpher._

He turned to look at everyone, but they were intently watching the five clones of themselves. "How does _that_ work?" Joel demanded. He watched Jake pull out a blaster from a side holster, and the five rangers fired on the robot, forcing him back a few steps.

"I think you're having an identity crisis," the robot sneered. "It doesn't matter _what_ you're wearing or who you are. This ends now!"

He fired at them, a barrage of small missle-shaped projectiles. The barrage exploded around them, the energy knocking them from the Lightspeed suits back into the pirate-looking suits of Super Megaforce. "Damn," Gia said. "That's right, it only lasts a short time."

"We're not done though," Emma said. She brandished her sabre and looked at Troy. "Let's go get him," she said confidently. Troy attacked first, a rapid slash with his sabre, and the others followed suit. The blitz attack had the robot cowering.

" _Rangers_ ," Gosei's voice chimed in their helmets. " _Your keys can go in your sabres for a final strike_."

Troy shrugged. "I'm game," he said, pulling his key from his belt and inserting it into the bottom of the handle. The sabre hummed in his hand. "Super Mega Final Strike!" he called out. The five of them brought their sabres down in a slashing motion, sending a wave of energy at the robot. The robot cried out and then exploded in a burst of fire.

Troy took off his helmet and the team picked their way through the X-borgs lying on the ground to the mall windows. Carter stepped over the window ledge and out onto the sidewalk. "That was fantastic!" he enthused.

"That was _weird_ ," Kelsey and Joel echoed. Joel was shaking his head looking at Jake. "That….was just odd," he said, frowning.

"Lightspeed looks good on you," Ryan told his nephew with a smile. "Especially Lightspeed Red."

"Hey!" Carter objected, but he was smiling.

Dana rubbed Carter's back. "Runs in the family," she said with a laugh.

Chad put a hand on Troy's shoulder. "Well done," he said approvingly. Troy beamed. Emma slipped an arm through his.

The double tone of the morpher interrupted the moment, and Troy pulled it out. "Gosei?"

" _More X-borgs have been spotted, along with another monster_ ," Gosei reported.

Troy shrugged. "Of course. Gotta cut the family reunion short, everyone." He turned to his team. "Let's go!" They started running down the street, Troy tossing a "Bye Mom and Dad!" over his shoulder. Then, they were gone.

The Lightspeed Rangers stood silently for a moment as they replayed what had just happened. Then, Joel said, "Dude. Seriously, _how_ does that kid have my uniform?"

"Dude," Ryan joked back, "don't think about it too hard." He shrugged. "How come they _didn't_ have mine?"

"Math," Dana told her brother.

* * *

"Now _that_ looks more familiar," Emma said as they arrived four blocks away to see a squad of X-borgs and a monster with green tentacles and several red eyes. "Hey! Squid face!" Jake yelled at it. It turned to face them, all of its red eyes blinking at them.

"Ew," Gia muttered.

"The Power Rangers. I've been warned about you," the green squid monster said in a gurgling voice.

"Should've listened," Troy smirked. They advance with their blasters and made short work of the X-borgs. Emma and Noah swapped sabres for blasters again. Noah was really enjoying their new pirate motif. Jake used his sabre to cut a few down, then grabbed a few overturned garbage cans, picking them up and tossing them over his head like an out of bounds shot in soccer. "Got 'em!" he cheered when they connected, comically sending three X-borgs falling head over heels and into a wall.

The squid-looking commander fired at them, and they dove out of the way. "You can't match a true Armada warrior!" it yelled at them. Its' chest opened up and an artillery of missiles appeared.

"Seriously, is that their only design?" Noah wondered.

"Obviously Metal Alice didn't get to upgrade everybody," Emma replied. "Ideas, Troy?"

"Let's try something with some sharpshooter power." Troy grinned. He thought for a moment. "How about…" He called out, "SPD, Emergency!" and instantly, his suit changed in a burst of light to red, black and white, with a giant #1 in black on the left chest. The rest of the rangers followed him, their suits numbering 2-5, and Troy pulled his blaster. "Missiles first, then him!"

"I'm not that easy! You can't block me!" the squid said. He fired, but the rangers' blaster shots knocked the missiles out of the air.

"Oh sure we can." Troy laughed. "Ready, guys?" He pulled out his key again. "Go go Samurai!" There was another flash of light as their suits changed again. Helmets with Japanese kanjis for the elements appeared, and now all five of them were holding katanas. They went after him with their swords, totally amped by the new power.

Then, Troy had another idea. "Let's make him see _red_!" he grinned. He glanced back at his father, who had rounded the corner with the rest of the Lightspeed team. "Lightspeed Rescue!" The Samurai suit disappeared, replaced by the red and white swirl of the Lightspeed Rescue Red Ranger uniform. "Lightspeed Rescue Red Ranger! Rescue Ready!"

Noah looked at him. "We can all be Red?" he asked. He closed his eyes, and turned his key. Noah's blue Samurai helmet was replaced by red and gold. The emblem on his chest looked like stylized flames. "Ninja Storm Red Ranger!"

Gia was now sporting red as well, with a flowing red cape. "Red Mystic Ranger!" she yelled. She gave Troy a thumbs up. "Color me impressed!"

Jake's suit was red and white with a black and silver compass in the center. "Red Overdrive Ranger!" he announced.

Emma was last. Her helmet visor almost looked like a five pointed star. "Red Zeo Ranger!" she yelled out.

* * *

"Wow," Dana whispered off on the sidelines. "Way to go old school, Emma."

Carter groaned. "Do _not_ tell Tommy."

* * *

"Hey Red Rangers," Troy said, stepping forward. "Let's do this!" He pulled a V-Lancer from out of nowhere and charged the tentacle monster. One after another, they attached in a blaze of red and sparks. Smoke and fire filled the area as the alien commander dropped to its' knees from the barrage of red ranger firepower, and then fell face forward onto the ground.

"Yes!" Jake cheered.

A bright purple light exploded onto the street and the rangers backed up, shielding their eyes. To their horror, the eighty-story version of what they'd just been fighting grew, shadowing them on the ground. "Seriously?" Jake complained.

" _Rangers, you can see the Armada ships have new capabilities_ ," Gosei said. " _But so do you_."

A larger shadow fell over the area, and the five rangers and six adults looked up to see-

"A pirate ship?" Kelsey looked at Dana. "Man, you talk about old school!"

Joel grinned. "Sweet ride!" he said approvingly. The five Super Megaforce Rangers, now back in their pirate form, leapt skyward, teleporting into the Skyship and appearing in a cockpit not unlike the MegaZord, the exception being that Troy was now commanding a giant ship's wheel. "Fire port side cannons!" he announced. He laughed. "I feel like Johnny Depp," he said.

"Which side's port?" Jake asked.

"Left!" Noah said, pointing, and Emma pressed a button, releasing a barrage of round cannonballs at the squid.

"Hey, what's this do?" Gia asked, pointing to a yellow-lit button that was pulsing on her console. Troy looked at the wheel and spotted the same thing.

It was Noah who figured it out. "I've always wanted to say this!" he began. Then, in a low voice, he intoned, "Release the Kraken-just kidding. Zords!" He smashed the blue button.

From behind them, four more machines appeared: a low riding green car, a blue jet, a pink submarine and a yellow bulldozer. "Hm. Interesting." Troy said.

"I was hoping for animals again," Emma sighed.

Troy spotted something else. "Here's the command for a MegaZord." He looked around at the rangers. "Shall we?"

"Aye aye sir." Noah teased. Troy pressed the button and the four new zords and the skyship folded and combined into a- "Super MegaZord!" Jake yelled.

The others looked at him. "Got excited," he said. "Not sorry."

"Hey look, Noah," Gia said. "Another sabre. You want the honors?"

"Yes!" Noah said excitedly as his arm brandished the giant pirate's sabre. The others let him have command as he sliced their way toward the squid. "There's a spot here," he said, pointing at the console. "I think our keys go there."

"Let's do it," Troy decided, sticking his key in the slot. He turned it a click to the right. "Super Mega Final Strike!" he declared.

The squid exploded. "Yummy," Emma said. "Sushi!"

Gia looked sideways at her. "Ew," she declared. Then, she turned to look up at Troy. "Well, oh Fearless Leader? Aren't you gonna say it?"

Troy shook his head. "Do I have to?"

"Oh come on," Emma teased. "For old times' sake."

Troy sighed. "Fine," he said. Then, he yelled, "Super Mega Rangers, that's a Super Mega win." He looked down at Gia. "I'm never saying that again," he informed her.

Gia smirked. "Yeah, we'll see about that."

* * *

The five of them appeared down on the ground a little while later. Carter, Dana and the other Lightspeed Rangers were standing around waiting for them, helping to clear some debris that had fallen from the buildings into the streets. Carter looked up as his son approached with his team. "Troy!" he said. He smiled. "That was _really_ cool," he told him. He gave Troy a sidearm hug.

"Yeah I wish we could've done that," Kelsey said. "Using all the other powers from the other rangers?"

"Kels, back in the day, we didn't have a lot of options," Ryan pointed out, and Kelsey shrugged.

"Speaking of options," Jake said, "Gosei never did get to tell me why my key accesses green rangers instead of black ones."

Joel clapped him on the shoulder. "Yeah, well, I can answer that one for you," he said. He looked at the rest of his team. "Green Rangers are cooler than Black Rangers," he said simply.

"Oh brother," Chad rolled his eyes.

Dana looked at Joel. "Apparently, neither you _or_ my brother can do any sort of simple math," she sighed.

There was the cracking of glass behind them, and everyone turned instantly, assuming that there was another squad of X-borgs. Instead, they found Ernie, poking his head out of the mall door.

"Ernie, have you been in there this whole time?" Emma asked, the color draining from her face. Had he heard the whole conversation?

The shorter man nodded. He looked at all of them. "Yes, and I cannot believe what I am hearing," he told them.

Chad grimaced. "Sir-"

Ernie broke into a grin and he looked at Joel. "The Black Power Rangers are _much_ cooler than the Green ones!" he pronounced. He looked sideways at Troy, and winked.


	33. Anomaly

_Earth, 2030_

Red warning lights echoed off the silvery blue walls of the Space Patrol Delta headquarters. Alarms and tones rang throughout the building.

Amidst the chaos, one figure stood firm, his hands clasped loosely at the small of his back, standing at parade rest. He stood in front of the hexagonal viewing platform, his eyes focused on an image projected in the space above it.

"Any idea what the anomaly is?" someone asked Commander Schuyler Tate, and Sky's eyes flickered to the person standing next to him. He wore a red SPD t-shirt and black uniform pants.

"I've never seen anything like this," Sky responded, "and there's nothing in the archives."

"Requesting permission to go check it out."

Sky turned to him. "No way. As Red Ranger, I need you here."

"Oh come on, Sky," Bridge Carson said, then quickly amended at Sky's look, " _Commander_ Tate," he tried. "This isn't a job for some scientist or a B-Squad cadet. This is big. Something's…" he searched for the right word, " _rewriting_ history," he explained. "You have to admit, I'm kind of uniquely qualified for this assignment, you know, what with the whole time traveling thing during the Overdrive tenure."

Sky turned to the viewing screen again, then back to Bridge. "Go," he said finally. "But Bridge, like I told you with the whole Overdrive mission…if anything happens to you while you're in the past…"

Bridge nodded, all humor gone from his features. "I know, Sky," he said. Then he brightened. "But hey, at least I'm going from a time _after_ Grumm, so if I die or something, it won't affect that-"

"Just everything else _after_ that," Sky pointed out, his eyes flickering to Bridge's left hand.

"Oh." Bridge nodded thoughtfully. "Right. Okay then."

"Report to Transport Bay 1," Sky told him. Bridge offered him the SPD salute, then spun on his heel. "Hey, Bridge?" Sky called after him, and Bridge stopped in the door, looking back. "Be careful, okay, man? I don't want to have to explain any of this to Z."

* * *

 _Harwood County_ , _Present_

"Okay…this feels _super_ weird," Emma said as she and Troy walked through the halls of Harwood County High a few days later. The school was packed. There were several students and teachers who'd come back early from break to help with putting it back together after the Armada attack.

Troy glanced down at their intertwined hands. "I can let go of your hand if you want," he offered.

Emma blinked. "What?" She looked down, and squeezed his hand tighter. "No, no, not that. This," she said, waving her free hand around the halls. "We stop an alien invasion, we go to school."

"Well, we're not technically in class," Troy pointed out. "It's just clean up."

"Hey guys! Happy almost New Year!" Noah put an arm around Troy and Emma and walked down the hall with them. "You guys seen Mr. Burley?"

Troy shook his head. "No, but I haven't really been looking for him either," he added, glancing down at Emma. Emma winked.

Noah got the hint. "Well, this is awkward." He let go of their shoulders and tapped his bookbag. "I'm going to go hide in the computer lab. Tensou downloaded old news video and some kind of video diary thing on the past rangers, and I'm going to go check it out. I figure everybody will be so busy with cleaning, they won't notice me in there. Let me know if you find Mr. Burley!"

"Will do," Troy said with a laugh, and Noah waved. He took off down a side hall. Troy and Emma heard a gasp, and a thud. They looked at each other, and then ran around the corner.

Noah and Mr. Burley were on the floor, tangled in Noah's bookbag straps. "Hey Noah," Troy said, fighting back a laugh. "I found Mr. Burley for you."

Noah looked up at him from the floor and rolled his eyes. "Yeah? Thanks." Emma helped Mr. Burley stand while Troy got Noah to his feet. The three of them looked at Mr. Burley, who pushed his glasses up on his nose.

"Mr. Burley, I heard that you were the first to spot the alien ships," Emma said to their favorite teacher. "You got NASADA to activate the early-warning system."

Elton Burley nodded. "Luckily I'd ordered a new telescope. Imagine if I'd been looking through a textbook instead!" The teens laughed. He joined in with them, then turned to Troy. "Around this time last year I asked the question which species will outlast all others. Someone, who shall remain nameless," and here he nodded to Troy, "said if humans work together, they can achieve anything. So. It's very clear that when faced with great adversity, the human spirit will prevail."

Troy ducked his head, embarrassed. "That was five months ago, Mr. Burley, how'd you remember that?"

"It's one of the best answers I've received for that question in beginning Bio since I started teaching." Burley looked at Emma and Noah. "No offense."

The two of them smiled. "None taken, Mr. Burley," Noah said. "I think we better get working on…on cleaning up." He nodded to Emma and Troy. "Um, Gia and Jake are both over at the mall with the cleanup crews there if you guys get bored."

"Maybe later," Troy said, checking his watch. "There's something I need to do," he said, and disappeared down the hall.

Burley watched him go. He turned to Emma and Noah, concerned. "Is he all right?" he asked them.

Emma watched Troy's jacket disappear around the corner. "It's been a rough couple days," she answered simply. "Come on, Mr. Burley, I'll help you with your office if you want."

* * *

Traveling through time was never easy. Bridge knew from experience, several times over. He'd been back to the past once, seen friends travel through time _to_ SPD twice. But the moment someone gave him a nod, and then he felt the lightheadedness that meant the transporter was busy sending his molecules through the time stream, the hairs on the back of his neck were standing straight up, and he clenched his fists as a wave of….something….hit him full force. He still wore his black gloves along with civilian clothing, so the impact of the energy wave didn't completely bowl him over. Instead, he felt his feet land solidly on sand. Or, as solid as sand could be. Actually, okay, it was wet sand and-oh, that was him hitting his knees.

He stood up slowly, tightening the Velcro straps on his gloves, and looked around. And then, there was a hiss and a sizzle somewhere near his shoe, and he looked down to see the sand smoking near his feet.

"What?" Bridge looked back to see…well, he wasn't sure _what_ it was exactly. But it seemed to know _him_ , and then just as suddenly, he was running for his life.

* * *

Emma rotated the arm of Mr. Bones, the skeleton that sat just behind Mr. Burley's door so that the fingers were facing the correct way. "Mr. Bones, I can't believe you managed to survive with all 206 bones intact," she said with a grin, stepping back to check the model over again to make sure everything was facing forward. Satisfied, she turned to start working on the stack of textbooks on top of Mr. Burley's file cabinet. She reached for a thick Bio text and felt her phone ring in her pocket. She pulled it out, recognizing the name on the caller ID. "Hi, Mrs. Grayson," she greeted Dana. "How's it going?"

" _Hi Emma, and please, it's Dana_ ," Dana replied on the other end. " _I'm sorry to bug you, I'm sure you're busy. Have you talked to Troy in the last hour_?"

"He was here at school with me until about…forty minutes ago," Emma replied. "Why?"

" _His dad and I have tried to reach him and can't get ahold of him. Any idea where he might be_?"

"No," Emma replied, then bit her lip. "Well, maybe."

* * *

Troy stared out at the ocean. The waves lapped the shore close to his feet but he barely felt the surf. His gaze flickered to the middle of Four Mile Beach to a burnt spot in the sand. There wasn't anything there save the blackened sand.

 _Robo Knight_ …Troy thought, staring intently at that spot. _Why would you do that?_ The sacrifice the robotic warrior had made for the team was weighing on Troy's mind. He wished they'd have been able to do something different. He'd lost a teammate. As the leader, he didn't like the feeling.

He heard voices, and glanced up to see someone running full out toward him. It was a man who looked a little younger than his father, with spiky brown hair, black jeans, a green t-shirt under a shortsleeved red flannel, and black gloves on his hands.

Suddenly, there was a flash, and a platoon of X-borgs dropped to the sand. Troy groaned inwardly. _You've gotta be kidding me_. He dropped to a fighting stance, but something made him pause.

The X-borgs ignored him, and instead, they were going for the man in the green shirt. "What the…" Troy trailed off. Whatever they wanted with him, they'd just passed up a Power Ranger to go after him. He was important, somehow. Which meant Troy needed to stop them. With that, he turned on his heel and sprinted down the beach, landing a flying kick to the back of one of the X-borgs who had ahold of the man's arm. As the robot staggered back, he watched in shock as the guy landed a perfectly good snap kick to its head, dropping it to the sand.

Troy felt something grab the back of his jacket, and he plowed his foot backwards, connecting with another of the foot soldiers. He watched the man in green drop into a crouch and sweep the leg out from an X-borg trying to grab him. "What do they want?" Troy yelled.

"That's actually a really, really, _really_ good question!" the guy in green called back. His statement was punctuated by an X-borg plowing one of their staff-like weapons into his stomach. He doubled over, and another X-borg grabbed his arms, pinning him from behind.

Troy felt his feet being taken out from under him. He hit the beach back-first, the wind getting knocked out of him. A voice commanded, "Bring them both!" and Troy's vision burst into a thousand pinpricks of light as he collapsed to the beach.


	34. Ultimatum

Emma wasn't sure how she got commandeered into passing out drinks for the construction workers and painters at the mall, but it wasn't helping keep her mind off Troy. "Keep up the good work," she told a couple of painters, who grabbed the glasses of water off her tray like they were in the desert. As she walked through the crowd of people helping to sweep glass and pick up debris, she almost ran into Gia, who was righting a potted plant next to a bench. "Hey you," Gia greeted Emma. "Fancy running into you. I thought you and Troy were at school?"

"We were, 'til he disappeared," Emma replied. "I don't know where he went, and his mom can't raise him on her cell."

Gia frowned. "I'm sure it's nothing. He's been acting a little weird the past couple days though." She looked around. "Things have been quiet. It's nice to put stuff together again. Shows the Armada we won't give up."

"Adversity brings out the best in us," Emma repeated Mr. Burley's words. "Is Jake around?"

Gia pointed. "Yeah, he's helping them paint the balcony level," she said, pointing up. Emma looked over to see Jake guiding a paint bucket on a pulley up to some painters on some scaffolding. He looked over at the two girls and smiled. "Hello, ladies."

"Looks like you could use a little break," Emma said in response, and handed him a plastic cup of water. Jake downed it like a shot.

"Jake!" The three teens turned to see Ernie coming toward them, holding a rickety green box. "I am glad to see you," he told the Green Ranger. "Jake, I have a very special assignment for you." He handed Jake the box. "I don't trust anyone else to do this."

Jake shrugged, looking at the girls. "Duty calls," he said, as Ernie ushered him away.

Noah bumped his way past a few onlookers watching the cleanup effort, holding his computer bag close. There had been a few reports of looters and small robberies, and what was on the computer was precious cargo. He bumped into something large, soft and white. "Oh, sorry." He looked up to see a giant cup of frozen yogurt with a bright red cherry on top. ERNIE'S BRAIN FREEZE was written on it in bright neon lettering.

"Noah?" the cup spoke. A small flap opened in the front and Noah's jaw dropped.

" _Jake?"_

Jake's eyes darted around. "Yeah. It's me. I'm just helping Ernie out. Don't tell the girls."

Noah tried to come up with a witty response, but shook his head. "I have something really important to tell you guys." He grabbed one of the skinny white hands that stuck out from the side of the cup.

"Dude! No! Come on, Gia can't see me like this!" Jake protested.

Noah rolled his eyes. "Let's go, they've seen you in worse situations."

"Like what?" Jake frowned.

Noah thought about it for a second. "Like you with a pencil up your nose?"

Jake winced. "Good point. All right, fine." Noah led him over to a bench, where Gia and Emma were sitting, both with a cup of water in their hands.

Gia laughed. "Hi Noah. How cute! It's Mr. Brain Freeze!" She got up and pulled the flap aside, revealing Jake's startled eyes. "Wow," she choked out, trying not to laugh. "I have to admit, Jake, you've got guts walking around the mall like that!"

Before Jake could make a retort, Noah held up a hand, as he pulled his computer out of the other. "Check this out. I've been working on memorizing the ranger database that Gosei gave us. Look at these cool Zords." He turned the computer screen so they could see a split-screen shot of a bright red, futuristic police cruiser, and a bright blue machine that looked like an V-22 Osprey, with double rotors on either side of it. "These are from the SPD Rangers."

"SPD?" Gia asked.

"Space Patrol Delta. Rangers from the future," Noah pronounced with a grin.

"I thought these were powers from past teams," Emma said, sounding confused.

Noah shrugged. "I dunno," he shrugged. "All I know is that their keys are in the command center, so they're ours to use."

"Sweet!" Jake pronounced, a little too loudly. Gia hit him where his stomach should have been, but her fist barely dented the fabric of the costume.

"New powers. New Zords," Emma grinned.

"The better to kick alien ass with," Gia replied with a smile.

"Wait 'til Troy sees this," Jake added. Then he frowned. "Where is Troy, anyway? I haven't seen him all day."

Emma reached into her bag. "I'm going to check on him," she said. "I don't like that we haven't heard from him and he hasn't answered his parents." She pulled out her cell phone and dialed his number. She listened for a few minutes.

 _Hey, you've reached Troy. I'm not available, leave a message_.

She looked over at Gia. Gia shrugged. "Maybe he wants to be alone."

* * *

Troy could hear his cell phone ringing and his fingers stretched to reach for it. Unfortunately, his phone was in his jacket pocket, and his hands were currently tied behind his back, tethering him to a support beam. He was sitting on the floor of some warehouse. It was quiet around the area, he couldn't hear any signs of civilization.

"Your jacket is ringing," the voice from the beach told him, and Troy glanced over to see the guy tied to a second beam a few feet away. The guy seemed completely unfazed by the fact that he'd been kidnapped by aliens. If anything…he kind of looked _happy_. Or, really relaxed. Not scared, or worried, or freaking out like a normal person would've been.

"Yeah. I can't reach it though," Troy grimaced. He tugged on the ropes, but all it got him was rope burn for his trouble. "Are you okay?" he asked the guy.

"Oh you know, I've been better," he replied easily. "I could seriously go for some toast." He looked at Troy. "What about you?"

"Head hurts a little," Troy replied. "Do you know where we are?"

"No," he replied, a little less brightly. "I woke up in here, same as you."

Troy blinked, thinking back to the beach. "What do they want with you anyway?" Troy wondered.

"Another really _really_ good question," the man responded. "One I don't have an answer for." He frowned. "And that bothers me a little bit."

Heavy footsteps echoed off the concrete floor, and Troy looked up to see a large figure step into the room with a bunch of X-borgs. He was half red, half blue, vaguely reminding him of Mr. Bones in Burley's office. It was the same monster from the beach, and like before, it blew straight past Troy and hauled the guy in green up by his shirt, pressing him against the beam.

"Take it easy," the guy in green said. "This is my only green shirt. Well, actually, it's not, I've still got one from the academy, but it's the only green shirt I brought _with_ me-"

Troy watched the tall alien commander press a button on a panel on his wrist. There was a shimmer in the air, and then Troy's eyes widened at what materialized. Twelve giant missiles, silver and pointed and deadly. They were resting on a boxy-looking platform.

The guy studied them. "Wow. Nice. They look like AIMs. Except these are a little larger. And a little pointier. And-" The X-borgs cut him loose, and the alien general shoved him and he fell awkwardly into the panel. One of the X-borgs secured a pair of shackles around his ankle, then threaded the chain to a ring at the bottom of the box, limiting his range of movement to the area around the box.

"Their targeting system needs to be reprogrammed," the alien general informed him. "To these coordinates." A hologram appeared on his arm and he held it out to show the man.

"Those are latitude and longitude," the guy mused. "Moscow, Shanghai…Washington DC…" He looked up at the general. "No way," he said, his easygoing voice suddenly turning deadly serious.

"We know who you are," the general told him. "Do it, or this one will pay the price." He pointed a spiny finger at Troy. Troy glared back at him.

The guy in green looked over at Troy. "I won't help you do this," he told the alien. "No way. Obviously, you know who I am. You messed with the time stream to get me on the beach. So you know that I won't help you. I'd rather get destroyed than help you."

"I was told you were a smart one," the general responded. He turned to the X-borgs and nodded, and a number of them went outside the warehouse. "But if you don't do it, I'll send them into the city. All those people putting that pathetic city back together…so vulnerable…"

He looked back at the man. "Your choice." His tone was deadly.

"Don't do it, man," Troy said. "My friends can handle those X-borgs."

"How about a hundred? A thousand?" The general looked at Troy, then to the guy at the panel. "Your choice."

He sighed. "Well, gosh, when you put it like that..." He glared at the general. "You made a big mistake," he told him, turning his back to the general. He took a deep breath, then opened up the control panel on the box. Satisfied, the general stepped back, and over to speak with some of the X-Borgs.

Troy strained at the ropes around his wrists. "Who _are_ you?" he asked. "Why do they want you? And what did they say about the time stream?"

"Oh, that," the guy in green shrugged. "I'm a Power Ranger. From the future."

Troy blinked. "Wait. _What_?"


	35. Force From the Future

Emma stood up, slamming her hands against the bench. "I can't take this anymore." She pulled out her morpher and looked around. "Tensou, can you get a lock on Troy?" she asked into it, and waited. Next to her, Gia watched the crowd, making sure nobody could see Emma's morpher.

" _I'll take a look, Emma_ ," the little robot promised.

Emma sighed. "I don't like this, Gia. He's been gone without contact for too long."

"He's fine, Emma," Gia said reassuringly. "I'm sure he's fine."

"I wish I could believe you," Emma said. _Come on, Tensou…find him._

* * *

"The future." Troy let that bounce around in his head a bit. "You're a Power Ranger?" he clarified, and the man in green nodded, not taking his eyes off the panel.

"Yup. Bridge Carson, SPD Gr-no, sorry. Red Ranger." He sounded apologetic. "Sorry. I still get confused."

"What are you doing _here_?" Troy asked him.

"Well, my commander, Sky, who used to be the red ranger, detected an anomaly in the past-that's here-and he needed someone to go check it out. Since I'm the Red Ranger, I'm highest-ranking, and I volunteered to go figure it out."

Troy processed that. "Uh. Huh. So this…the alien invasion, that's the anomaly?"

Bridge shrugged. "I don't actually know. Maybe. See, time isn't fixed, it's fluid, but this wasn't there before. Something happened…or is going to happen, that's going to mess with the time stream."

"So you came back to the past." Troy nodded. He wished Noah was here. It would make more sense to him. "Okay, but what happens if you'd like…."

Bridge didn't turn around from the console. "Die here? Well, I guess it all depends on what's screwing up time. 'Cause, well, it doesn't really matter, since I'm from a point _after_ Grumm, it won't mess up our defeating Grumm, but it could affect the events leading up _to_ that point if we die in the past, since technically, right now, I'm like…what, let me do the math-"

"Whoa. New conversation," Troy cut in. "How did they even know about you?" Troy asked. He was amazed he was making as coherent of a conversation as he was. This guy had just told him he was from the future. _Then again, my parents were Power Rangers, my dad fought on the moon, and I'm in a battle against evil aliens, so….why not?_

Bridge pulled out a panel and started rearranging some wiring. "That's actually a really good question," he said. "My only guess is that coming through space they picked up on the power surge or something, and figured it was coming from me, and then realized I have SPD tech on me, which shouldn't really be _in_ this galaxy yet-"

"SPD?"

Bridge grinned. "Space Patrol Delta," he said. With the hand that wasn't buried in wiring, his fingers gripped an imaginary rectangle-shaped piece of plastic and thrust it forward like he was showing a police badge. "SPD, emergency!" he intoned. At Troy's look, he offered him a smile. "Sorry. I'm rambling. That's sort of my thing."

Troy remembered that one now. They'd just used it the other day. And now he remembered from his dream-the uniforms numbered 1-5. "I think some of this is starting to make sense to me," he admitted.

"Speaking of starting…" Bridge closed the panel with a now worried look. "That was way easier than I thought it'd be….the missiles are active."

The alien general appeared out of nowhere. "Well done, Ranger!" it applauded. Bridge glared at it. The general stepped forward and pushed him to the ground. Bridge landed hard on the concrete, wincing as pain radiated up his arms. "Now the world will be ours!" He looked at Troy. "And you and your friends will be powerless to stop us."

" _Rangers!"_ Tensou's little voice was a little garbled through the material of Gia's jacket, but Gia whipped out her morpher anyway. The four remaining Megaforce Rangers were still at the mall. " _I found Troy. He's at a warehouse near the docks. And there's more! There's missiles inside and they're counting down!"_

"We're on it," Gia replied, standing quickly. Emma and Noah followed, Noah stuffing his laptop back into his bag. "I'll go find Jake."

* * *

Bridge and Troy now sat back to back, Bridge's wrists behind him. "Please tell me you didn't actually make those missiles active," Troy said. Bridge was silent, and Troy couldn't see his face, so he didn't know what the SPD Ranger was thinking or doing.

"Let's test your handiwork," the general said. He flipped up the plastic box over the trigger, and pressed the button.

Troy closed his eyes.

Nothing happened.

"What?!" The general actually pounded on the console, as if that would help.

Bridge was smiling. "I didn't actually make those missiles active," he said with a grin. "The complete opposite actually. They're completely dead. Just big, pointy paperweights." He dropped his grin and eyed the general. "I told you, you're making a big mistake."

"All right, Bridge!" Troy cheered under his breath.

The general leaned in, his face even with Bridge's. Troy could feel hot breath on the back of his neck. "They say timing is everything," he hissed at him. "Your time is _up_."

Bridge didn't break a sweat. "Yeah?" he countered. "Well, if I'm going down, you're going down with me," he said. With that, he and Troy burst from their places on the floor, their hands untied and nailed the general in the chest with two perfect kicks to the chest. As he staggered, Troy grabbed Bridge's hands and pulled him to his feet. Bridge took off, ducking back behind some barrels as Troy stood up to face the general.

"It's morphin' time!" Troy turned the key and his pirate-themed uniform appeared.

"Pirates!" Bridge gasped from his hiding place. "Oh dude, that's so cool!"

* * *

Gia, Emma, Jake and Noah skidded to a stop as they were greeted by a crew of X-borgs. "There's too many," Noah said, doing a quick count.

"Troy needs us," Jake pointed out. "Let's take 'em down!" Jake hopped over a large crate, kicking the metal head off one of the robots, which then connected with a couple others, knocking them backwards. Next to him, Noah tipped a barrel on its side, then kicked it, rolling over three of the robot soldiers. "Strike!" he cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

Emma found an abandoned car, probably left during the initial invasion, and plowed an X-borg into the open driver's side window. "How we doing?" she yelled.

Noah looked over at her. "Let's go Super Mega!" he decided, and Emma nodded in agreement. Gia ran up to join them and the four of them morphed into their Super Megaforce mode.

"This should give us the upper hand!" Jake pointed his sabre at the standing X-borgs.

"Let's get this over with and go Legendary!" Gia suggested.

"Yeah, I have an idea on that!" someone yelled from behind her.

Gia and the others looked up to see Troy, in Super Megaforce uniform, hightailing it out of the warehouse, being chased by a two-faced alien general. Behind him, Emma spotted someone, a dark haired man in green and red, poking his head out from the doorway.

From behind them, there was a massive explosion. The guy in the doorway tucked and rolled, coming up next to Troy and the others. Troy helped him stand, and he grinned, adjusting the gloves on his hand. "A little parting gift," he grinned. "You should see what I can do with a toaster."

"Say what?" Jake frowned.

"Guys, this is Bridge," Troy introduced them. Bridge waved, wiggling his fingers. "He's-"

"You've ruined everything!" the general bellowed, interrupting. "You're going to pay for this!"

"Oh, really?" Troy shot back. He looked back to Bridge, who was standing patiently. He turned back to his team. "Guys, I'm with Gia. Let's go Legendary." He pulled out his morpher, then, threw his hand out in front of him, brandishing the morpher like a badge. "SPD, Emergency!"

The pirate motif disappeared, getting replaced with a slick red and black uniform, with a "1" emblazoned on the left chest. "Space Patrol Delta!" The others followed suit behind him, Jake in Green, Noah Blue, Gia in Yellow and Emma in Pink.

* * *

"So, I need to ask a question," Bridge began, as a few of the foot soldier guys surrounded him. "Maybe you guys can answer it for me."

They stared blankly at him. "Okay, okay. So…if he's in my uniform, if I were to try to morph in the future, would I be able to access my uniform? Or would I change color?" The X-Borgs stared, unmoving, at him. Bridge nodded. "Okay then." With that, he attacked.

* * *

Troy landed a solid hit with his sabre, Emma backing him with her blaster. "You'll never take over our planet!" he yelled at the general. "You picked the wrong planet to mess with." He looked at Emma. "Let's finish him off!"

"You got it!" Emma's blaster shimmered and changed into a slick looking pink and black blaster. She saw Troy and the others do the same. "SPD Delta Max Blasters!" Troy commanded. "Fire!" The five of them fired simultaneously at the general, and he disappeared in a shower of sparks and smoke.

Then, the inevitable. The general grew to massive size. "You're about to go up in smoke!" the alien general roared from up above their heads.

"I don't think so!" Emma yelled. "Release the Zords!" From over the city, the Skyship appeared, the other zords trailing behind it. The rangers teleported up into the cockpit.

From down below, Bridge swung two of the X-borgs into each other, and watched them collapse with a satisfied smile. He looked up at the Megazord battle happening above his head. The supersized alien general reached into the burning rubble of the warehouse and pulled something out of it.

Bridge paled. "That's not fair," he complained, as a final missile rose above him in the general's hand. "Hey! Guys! Watch out, he's…" He trailed off. "What am I doing? They can't hear me up there."

"Where'd that come from?" Troy demanded as the general aimed the missile point blank at the MegaZord.

"It doesn't matter. We can't let him launch it. At us _or_ anywhere else," Noah said. "We've gotta get it from him."

"I'm on it," Emma replied. Troy swung the wheel and got them closer to the general. Then, Emma lashed out with the arm of the Zord and grabbed his shoulder. Noah swung their massive sabre so that it knocked the missile from his hand. Then, Emma pushed the general away and caught the missile with the free hand.

"Yeah!" Gia cheered.

"Hey, guys," Jake admonished teasingly, "stealing isn't right."

"Yeah, and since we've got an SPD Ranger watching us, we'd better return it," Troy added. All four of his teammates turned to him.

"What?" they chorused.

Troy pointed to Emma. "Send that thing back to the Armada, first class!"

Emma gave him a thumbs up and a nod. Then, she reached back with the missile, and threw it skyward.

* * *

What they couldn't see, but would have been very satisfying, was the missile exploding just outside the Earth's atmosphere, taking out the entire front line of the Armada. It barely missed the flagship, but everyone aboard felt the chain reaction of explosions as the ships shattered into pieces.

* * *

Back on the planet, Troy and the others faced the general. " _Rangers_!" Gosei's voice boomed from inside their helmets. " _You've mastered the SPD powers, and assisted an SPD ranger. You can now access the SPD Delta Squad MegaZord._ "

The Megaforce Legendary Zord broke into its respective pieces and disappeared. Once on the ground, Troy heard the sound of an extremely loud siren. A red police cruiser the size of the skyship was cruising toward him, lights flashing.

"Oh hello," Jake noted, as the other zords appeared.

"Hey! Look!" Noah said excitedly. "Just like I showed you guys!" They jumped into the Delta Squad Runners and formed the Delta Squad MegaZord.

The alien general shuddered. "Back off!" he yelled at them, as if that would do any good.

"I don't _think_ so!" Troy smirked. "Mega Blaster!"

Bridge shaded his eyes as he watched the general disintegrate. He grinned. "Are you guys _seeing_ this?" he pronounced. He looked down at the pile of X-borgs at his feet. "Guess not."

Footsteps pounded toward him, and he looked up to see the pirate rangers running toward him. Their uniforms disappeared in a flash. "Are you okay?" the boy in red asked him.

Bridge nodded. "Yeah. I'm good. Better than good. Really good." He grinned at them. "So, you guys are the new Power Rangers huh?"

"I'm Troy," Troy said, offering Bridge a hand. "And that's Emma, Jake, Gia and Noah. Guys, this is Bridge Carson. He's-"

"SPD Green," Noah said. Troy glanced at him in surprise.

"Technically, right now I'm SPD R _ed_ ," Bridge countered. "You must have a out of date database."

"Can it be out of date if you aren't the red ranger _yet_?" Troy asked him, and Bridge shrugged.

"You're from the _future_?" Gia asked. When Bridge nodded, she asked. "So…can you tell us…do we win? Against the Armada?"

The rangers looked at Bridge expectantly. "I can't tell you that," Bridge said finally, after thinking on it. "I mean. I want to. But I can't. For a couple reasons, the most important being-"

"You can't mess with the timeline," Noah suggested, and Bridge nodded.

"Yeah. Well, that, and honestly? In the future, this hasn't happened. At all. There's no record of an invasion of earth in this year. Something's messing with the timeline. Something big." He looked at Troy. "I have to go back to SPD to report this. We'll monitor the situation."

"You can't stay and help us?" Emma asked him.

Bridge smiled at her. "Technically, you can morph _into_ me." He frowned. "That's weird to say out loud. But what I mean is, we're _already_ helping you," he told her. "I promise though, if SPD feels the need to interfere, we'll be here."

He clapped his hands together. "Okay, seriously, I haven't eaten since breakfast at the academy this morning." He paused. "Which…hasn't happened yet. But, it has."

"I'm confused," Jake muttered.

Bridge looked at Troy. "Got any good recommendations for places to eat in this time?"

Troy grinned, checking his watch. "Actually, yeah," he told Bridge with a grin. "I do."

* * *

The mall was packed. The place smelled like fresh paint, along with the smells of frozen yogurt, pretzels and other fast food items. As the five rangers and Bridge walked into the newly-replaced glass doors, they threaded their way through the throng of people to stand at the end of the mall occupied by the food court and Ernie's. "Looks like the whole town is here for the reopening," Jake noted.

"That's a lot of people," Bridge noted. "I hope I don't accidentally run into myself while I'm here."

"Is that possible?" Emma asked him.

"Oh yeah. Although right now, I think I'm still in elementary school…or am I younger?" Bridge bit his lip, thought about it, and then shook his head. "I'm too hungry to think."

"You are in luck, my friend!" Ernie appeared with a red tray from the Brain Freeze in his hand. He handed Bridge a yellow-colored smoothie. "Enjoy!" Then, he turned to Jake. "Jake, I need to have my Mr. Brain Freeze costume back."

Jake groaned as Ernie disappeared through the crowd. "I don't remember where I stashed it," he moaned. Noah laughed.

Around them, people were starting to yell. "Five! Four!" The rangers joined in. Even Bridge, though he didn't know what he was counting down for. On "One!" a giant banner unfurled from the skylight, with EARTH FIGHTS BACK emblazoned on it in bright white letters.

"Awesome," Bridge proclaimed, and took a sip of the drink in his hand. His eyes widened, and he broke into a huge grin.

"What is it?" Troy asked him. Bridge shook the smoothie at him.

"It's buttered popcorn!" he said excitedly, and Troy noticed on the word 'buttered' Bridge's fingers wiggled uncontrollably on his free hand. "You've gotta _try_ this!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a major departure from the events in "Earth Fights Back" simply because I don't feel like they should earn the new Zords just by morphing into the legendary team X# of times. I figure helping Bridge earned them their SPD stripes, so to speak. Plus, any excuse for some Bridge.


	36. Adventure to the Animarium

_High above the surface of the planet, a turtle floated lazily in the sky. To the untrained eye, it looked simply like a white cloud that just happened to be turtle-shaped. There were just a handful of people who knew that the white cloud hid an island paradise known as the Animarium, home to wild beasts known as the Wild Zords._

_The ship had been circling it for some time, until the pilot received confirmation that it was indeed what they thought it was. As it descended through the cloud cover, something blew past it-a flash of yellow and gold. The giant eagle screamed at them, giving them away._

_Down on the ground, Princess Shayla awoke with a start. The waters in the fountain exploded, signifying danger. Shayla closed her fist around the necklace she wore around her neck._

_RANGERS…help!_

* * *

Emma's head was resting on Troy's shoulder, her eyes half-closed. Across the command center from them, Noah was crashed, using his laptop case as a pillow. He hadn't even bothered to take his glasses off, so they were bent askew on his face. At Noah's feet, Jake was passed out, resting his arms and his head on his sweatshirt. And Gia's head was resting on his back.

Only Troy was awake. He was resting with his back against the command center wall, enjoying the break. The last few weeks had been brutal. Even with the newly-acquired SPD zords and Legendary mode, the battles were tiring, exhausting, and spirit-killing.

"We're just holding them off," he said aloud as Tensou came spinning into the room, his four little eyes blinking, and rolled to a stop in front of him. "That's not enough."

"Maybe you need another new ally," Tensou chirped. "Like…like Bridge! I liked Bridge."

Troy laughed. "Me too, buddy. Me too."

As if he'd heard Tensou, Gosei's eyes flickered alive, and his voice boomed in the quiet. "Rangers. Wake up _now_."

Emma's head shot up, nearly knocking Troy in the chin. Troy moved his head just in time. Noah blinked sleepily awake, and Gia was shaking Jake to rouse him.

"What is it, Gosei?" Troy asked.

"I am sending you on a mission to a place called the Animarium."

"The Ani-what?" Jake repeated.

"A floating island in the shape of a turtle. You will need the Skyship." Gosei's eyes were flickering as the panels came to life in front of them. Troy leaned against the red one, watching the images. The island indeed was shaped like a sea turtle, with a high peak in the middle, surrounded by a large lake and what looked like forest and jungle around it. "Whoa," Emma breathed.

Noah spoke up. "That's the home base for the Wild Force Rangers. It was part of the Earth but then lifted up special powers to create a safe haven for the Wild Zords." He grinned. "Their blue ranger had a shark zord, like me."

"So what's on the island?" Gia asked.

"The Wild Force team is inactive currently on Earth, but allies of theirs still reside on the island. Princess Shayla is the island's protector, and the Wild Zords still roam free. I have received a distress call. I believe the Armada may have found the island. If they capture the Wild Zords…"

"That would suck," Jake said unelegantly.

"So we need to get there first," Troy decided. "Gosei, do the Wild Force rangers know that the island is in trouble?"

"I do not know, Troy," Gosei replied. "I do not know how far Princess Shayla's distress call reached. The island orbits the earth, it is not geosynchronous."

"Huh?" Jake blinked.

"It means it's never in the same place over the earth," Emma clarified. She looked at Troy. "We've got to help them."

"We're on it," Troy told her. He turned to the others. Though exhausted, they stood ready, awaiting orders. "Let's suit up!"

* * *

Jake was bored. He tried to keep his focus on the passing clouds, looking for something turtle-shaped, but his thoughts kept drifting to his partner up in the crow's nest. Gia was leaning against the rail in uniform, her helmet sitting next to her feet. They wanted to be ready to go in case the Armada saw them buzzing around, but the sides of the helmets limited their field of vision, and they needed a big one.

Jake had liked Gia from the first day she breezed into first period English when they were sophomores. She was pretty, that was the first thing he'd noticed, but then, as he'd gotten to know her better, was realizing that she was so much more than a pretty face. She was really smart and made As and Bs, and really sarcastic, which fit his sense of humor too. She was a good friend, and now, with the invasion, a great teammate to have your back.

He sighed inaudibly, hoping she wouldn't hear. She was standing right next to him, and Emma and Noah were below in the bow of the ship. It would be a perfect time to talk to her but…he couldn't make any words come. That was his problem. Half the time, he came off sounding creepy and weird to her. She made him tongue-tied.

"What are you doing?"

Jake cursed himself inwardly. "…Searching?" he offered lamely after a moment. He returned his gaze to the clouds. _Turtle. Looking for a turtle…_

He just wanted to ask her out. How hard could it be?

* * *

Emma watched a patch of fluffy cloud float by. If there wasn't the threat of imminent attack at any moment, it would've almost been relaxing, a sky ship pleasure cruise. Then, she blinked.

 _Wait a second._ "I think we passed that same cloud the last time we flew through here," she told Noah.

Noah leaned over the side of the ship and looked back. "Clouds don't stay in the same shape," he said. Then, his eyes widened, and he looked at Emma. "Unless-"

"Troy! Take her around! We found it!" Emma held her helmet up to her mouth and spoke into the comm.

" _Roger that_ ," Troy said from inside the cockpit. " _Hang on!_ " He spun the wheel.

Jake's shoulder slammed into Gia without warning as Troy made the ship come about.

"Ow!" Gia cried out in surprise, grabbing onto the side of the crow's nest so she didn't tumble over the side.

Jake steadied himself, then turned to Gia. "I'm sorry!" he protested quickly. "I-I _so_ didn't mean-"

"Jake." Gia interrupted him with a hand on his arm. "It's fine. I'm fine." She smiled at him. "Seriously."

"I wouldn't ever hurt you," Jake said, not even sure where the words were coming from. He took a step sideways away from her.

"Not intentionally, I'm sure," Gia said back after a moment. She opened her mouth to say something else, but just then, there was a roar, and something blew by the ship in a large blue-gray blur. The backwash it created almost sent Jake and Gia flying again.

" _What the_ -" Troy's voice sounded in their helmets, but then, the object came around again, slower this time, and pulled in parallel to the sky ship.

"It's an F-15 Strike Eagle," Noah announced. Inside the cockpit of the sleek Air Force jet, the pilot was motioning a 'land' gesture insistently, and pointing at the now-visible turtle-shaped island. Noah couldn't tell if the pilot was a he or a she since they were wearing their helmet with the sun visor down. "Troy, they want us to land on the Animarium," he told the Red Ranger.

" _Roger that, taking her down_ ," Troy said. He angled the ship downward, spying a semi-flat patch of beach next to the large lake they'd seen the shot Gosei had given them of the Animarium. He set the ship down gently, and the five rangers climbed out and stood on the beach, staying in uniform just in case.

Next to them, the F-15 rumbled to a stop on a flat patch of hardened and packed dirt that served as a makeshift runway. The canopy of the jet popped open as the twin Pratt and Whitney engines spun down. The pilot hopped out and came marching over to them, hands reaching for their helmet. It came off, revealing a blonde ponytail and some very serious blue eyes.

"Who in the _hell_ are you and what in the _hell_ are you doing here?" she demanded. Troy caught the last name on her flight patch- Earhardt.

"You're Taylor Earhardt," Noah spoke up timidly from the back, and Taylor turned her focus onto the Blue Ranger. He shrank back a little. "You were the Wild Force Yellow Ranger."

Momentarily confused, Taylor blinked. "How did you-"

"We're the new Rangers," Emma said. "From Harwood."

Recognition dawned. "Okay," Taylor said, still sounding unconvinced. "That doesn't answer my question. What are you doing here?"

"Our mentor received a distress call from Princess Shayla-" Gia began, stepping forward, but almost as quickly, Taylor's body went rigid.

"We have to go. Follow me." With that, she took off at a run through the trees. The five Megaforce rangers looked at each other, and then followed after Taylor. As she ran, she was unzipping her flight suit until she could tie the sleeves around her waist, revealing a bright yellow v-neck t-shirt. She sprinted through the trees straight as an arrow. The others struggled to keep up. A few minutes later, Troy started to notice the dirt under his feet was giving way to stone, and the trees gave way to walls. Suddenly, the five of them were standing in what looked like an ancient temple. Taylor stopped short, hardly out of breath. She looked around. "Princess Shayla?" she called out to the still air. She turned, worried. "We have to find her."

"We'll help," Troy said. He pointed. "Emma and Jake, go that way. I'll go with Noah, and Gia, you go with Taylor." The Megaforce team nodded, and disappeared, heading for the caves and back into the jungle.

"What are you doing here?" Taylor demanded. "And how do you know who I am?"

"I'm Gia. Gia Moran. We're the new Power Rangers," Gia repeated. "And uh, it's kind of a long story."

"I've got time," Taylor countered. She looked around the temple, and then gasped. She darted near a pool of water and picked up something glinting in a crevice near it. She held it out to Gia. It was a W-shaped necklace, with a blue-purple gem in the center of the gold plating. "This is Shayla's," she said. Her eyes narrowed. "We have to find her. If those things did anything to her…"

"They could find the Wild Zords?" Gia finished. Taylor looked at him in shock. "Uh, our mentor gave us homework," she said. "Noah, our blue ranger, he's done some research. Shayla's the island's protector, right?"

"Yes. Which means we have to find her, and fast." Taylor grabbed her arm and pulled. "Let's go!" She turned to leave the temple, and ran smack into six X-borgs, staring at the two rangers. "Oh come on…. _seriously_?"

Gia nodded, her lips set in a tight line. "Yeah, they always start the party," she sighed. "Let's get them out of the way."

"Deal," Taylor agreed, and the two yellow rangers sprang into action. Taylor used one of the temple walls as leverage, bouncing off of it and sending her combat boot flying into an X-borg's face. Gia dropped, sweeping out the leg of another. Taylor had a moment to nod approvingly. "Not bad, newbie," she told Gia.

Gia raised an eyebrow. "You're not too bad yourself, old lady," Gia shrugged back, and then planted her foot in the chest of another X-borg.

Taylor blinked. Then, she grinned. "Thanks," she said, and attacked again.

Troy and Jake ran into their own set of problems. As they crested a hill, they were met with several X-borgs standing in their path.

"Cockroaches," Jake muttered as the X-borgs came toward them. He and Troy dropped into defensive stances. "They're everywhere."

"Let's crush them," Troy offered. In a flash, the two were morphed and entering the fight. A moment later, they were joined by Noah and Emma, who came bursting through the trees at the bottom of the hill. Not a moment later, Taylor and Gia appeared from the top of the hill. Between the six of them, they made short work of the foot soldiers.

Jake swallowed. "That's a lot easier with six people," he noted.

"Yeah," Taylor said with a sideways glance at Gia. "Not bad for an old lady, huh?" She led them into the trees and the Megaforce team demorphed. "You know, you probably could get some more help, if you wanted," she said after a minute of catching her breath. Although she kept up with regular physical checks on base, this fighting was more than she'd had to do in over fifteen years.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked her.

"Well, the Wild Zords helped us when we were chosen," Taylor explained. "They're still around. They're a little picky," she continued with a look at Troy, "but I think you'll find if you prove yourself to them, they'd have your back if you needed them."

Troy didn't miss Jake listening to Taylor intently.

"Anyway, that's enough rest," Taylor said, standing. "We've got to find Princess Shayla, and fast." She sighed. "I wish the others were around, this would be a lot easier. I'd forgotten how big this place was."

Noah started to say something, then froze. "Something is watching us," he hissed. The five other rangers clammed up and listened.

"You're hearing things," Troy said, but Taylor shook her head.

"No, he's right. I can feel it too," she said. She glanced up at the top of the hill. "There's something out there."

"Friend or enemy?" Emma wondered.

Troy stumbled. He looked around. The others were getting shakily to their feet. The ground beneath their feet was shaking, rippling with low energy. "Earthquake?"

"Can't be," Taylor said, gripping a tree to steady herself. "No fault lines."

Just then, there was a horrifying roar. The sound rang in Troy's ears. A guttural, animalistic howl. They dove for cover in the trees, staring intently at the top of the hill.

The shaking intensified. Then, a large shape blocked out the sun and a shadow fell over their position.


	37. Wild Access

Jake had once learned something about goldfish. Goldfish would grow to fit the size of whatever container they were put in.

The same, apparently, went for Wild Zords. Because standing over them was a lion. A _giant_ , red lion with a gold mane that shone in the sunlight. And while Jake knew that Zords were big, this one seemed _massive_ by comparison.

The lion bent down to get a better look at Taylor. Then, the sound it made next almost sounded like a pitiful meow from a house cat.

"Yeah," Taylor agreed. "I know. We're here to find her. And there's help."

The lion rumbled. "No. No Cole," Taylor admitted. "It's just me. And these guys." She turned back. "Hey, it's okay. I think we're good."

The Megaforce team started breathing again. Troy shielded his eyes as he looked up at the massive Zord. "He's amazing," he whispered.

"He's not as graceful as Yellow Eagle," Taylor shrugged with a wink at Gia, "but he's not bad." He looked up at the Zord. "Have you seen the intruders on the island? Do you know where Shayla is?"

The Lion rumbled and his tail flicked off in the distance.

"I'm thinking that means 'that way'," Jake whispered.

"That's toward the mountain," Taylor said. "Perfect vantage point to try to spot the other Wild Zords."

"If they're as big as this guy-" Noah nodded toward the lion- "I'm surprised they're not visible from _space!_ "

"That's probably where they took Shayla," Taylor decided. "Those Zords would do anything for her. As soon as they know that they've got her-"

"They'll do what they can to protect her," Emma finished, and Taylor nodded.

"We're not gonna let that happen," Troy decided.

"Is _that_ what you think?" an oily voice rang out over the area. The rangers turned to see a large green-furred beast with what looked like a pink overcoat.

Emma blinked. "I….what the-"

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "They've gotten uglier," she noted.

"You're here for the Lion?" The green beast was followed by a pack of X-borgs. "We're going to take it first!"

"Careful," Troy warned. "What you find might come back to bite you in the ass!"

"I've never failed on a single mission!" the beast retorted, almost sounding offended.

"Time to break your streak!" Jake yelled at it.

"We need to split up," Troy said. "Some of us can take on this thing; the others can go after Princess Shayla."

"I'm staying," Taylor decided. She looked at Gia. "You wanna hang around?"

"I never say no to a fight," Gia nodded. She turned to Jake. "Stick around?" she asked.

Jake's jaw dropped. "I-uh….yeah, sure!"

Troy shook his head. "Okay, then that leaves Noah and Emma and I heading to get Princess Shayla. We'll see you guys there," he told the others. Then, the three of them broke off into the trees and took off.

"Stop them!" the green general roared. A few of the X-borgs followed the rangers. The rest turned to face down Taylor, Gia and Jake.

"Let's show them what Yellow can do," Taylor told Gia. Gia nodded firmly.

"Hey," Jake protested. "And Black, right?"

"Green," Gia countered.

"Whatever," Jake shrugged. Gia and Jake pulled out their morphers and jumped to their pirate uniforms. Taylor looked at them with interest. "Nice," she approved. "Makes me wish I still had mine," she added, but then the X-borgs were on her and she didn't have time to wish any longer. The two yellow rangers tag-teamed the general, Taylor going low and Gia going high. Jake battled the X-borgs nearby. It seemed like as two fell, three more showed up. "I can't hold them all off!" Jake yelled to the girls. "They're headed for the Lion!"

"What are they gonna do to it?" Gia replied. "It's just gonna step on 'em!"

"But if they'd get control of it-"

"Not gonna happen!"

The voice was new, and the fighting paused for a moment at the sound of a forceful voice coming from the rise of the hill. Gia turned back to see who had yelled.

Standing on top of the rise was a tanned man with dark black hair pulled back into a ponytail with a short goatee. Next to him was a woman in a white t-shirt and blue jean shorts with cropped dark hair.

The lion roared, rattling the trees.

Taylor was grinning. "You guys on vacation or what? Get down here!" she yelled at them.

At the top of the hill, the other two looked at each other and grinned, then sprinted down the hill. They arrived at the same time, neither out of breath.

"Who are you?" Jake asked.

The man stuck his hand out in front of him. "Cole Evans. Red Wild Force Ranger." Jake smiled and grabbed his hand. "And this is Alyssa," he added, but Alyssa and Taylor were mid-reunion hug. "Hey, ladies?"

"What do you want, Jungle Boy?" Taylor asked him.

Cole nodded. "I think the rest of this can wait, don't you?" he asked, pointing to the advancing X-Borgs.

"Your husband's a fun killer," Taylor whispered playfully to Alyssa, and the other woman laughed.

"I don't say this often, but he's right," Alyssa sighed dramatically. "Let's finish this!"

* * *

Noah could feel the air getting thinner as they raced at an incline toward the mountain. "I wonder what the altitude is right now," he mused breathlessly. "Considering we're at cruising altitude for a 747 already."

"The science can wait," Troy replied as they skidded to a stop. "I think we're in the right place."

"How do you know?" Emma asked him, and he nodded ahead of them to a waiting line of X-Borgs. "Ah. Never mind then."

"How should we do this?" Noah asked, ever the tactician.

Troy surveyed the area. They were standing on a rocky scrabble of a hill with boulders of varying sizes, probably from a landslide or something. About a hundred feet above them, he could see a small cave. "That's our objective," he decided. "Let's get through these guys first."

"You guys need some help?"

Troy whipped around at the voice, dropping into a defensive stance. Noah whistled. But it was in a good way, which made Troy pause.

"You're Max! And Danny!" Noah said. He hit Troy excitedly in the arm. "Wild Force Black and Blue!"

"Black and Blue?" Max Cooper mused. He grinned and looked at Danny Delgado. "Never heard that one before, I kinda like it!"

"Me too," Danny said, turning his eye to the advancing X-borgs. "And that's what I'd like to make _them_ ," he said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Troy grinned, happy to have the help. "Let's go get 'em!"

* * *

The others rangers were running through the trees. Cole kept having to slow up to let the others catch him. It'd been years since he'd been a ranger but he was still so in tune with nature that running through the trees was like nothing to him.

"How did you guys get here?" Taylor asked as they ran, arrowing straight toward the mountain.

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Red Lion woke Cole up at like four in the morning," Alyssa told her.

"It's a good thing he did," Cole defended his large Zord friend, slipping easily between two trees. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have gotten here."

"And about _that_ ," Jake said, awkwardly jumping over a fallen log, "we had to take a skyship to get here and Taylor flew a jet. So you guys got here…how?"

"On the wings of eagles," Cole grinned. He glanced sideways at Taylor as they skidded to a stop in the foothills of the larger mountain. "Yellow Eagle was nice enough to pop down at my request."

"And Max and Danny?"

"They're around here somewhere," Alyssa replied. "We split up."

"Any sign of Merrick?"

Cole shook his head. "Haven't heard from him since…well, since everything." Taylor nodded understandingly. The trail started to climb, and Gia noticed a distinct rise. They'd hit the mountain, and were on their way up. Ahead, he could hear sounds of combat. They rounded a ridge and spotted Noah, Emma and Troy along two unfamiliar men fighting off X-borgs. "Hey guys!" a taller man in black with glasses greeted them as he tossed an X-borg easily over his shoulder. "Nice to see you again!"

"Hey, Danny," Cole said with a laugh.

"He's always happy, whether he's reading a book or fighting X-borgs," Alyssa whispered to Jake.

"You have no chance against an army our size!" Troy whipped around to see the general behind them, with more X-borgs. They were flanked.

"Taylor, can you guys finish these guys off?" Troy asked.

"Of course we can," the older man in blue said, even though he hadn't been asked. "Piece of cake!"

"Maybe for some of us, Max," Alyssa muttered. She flexed her arms. "Some of us haven't been climbing rocks in Alaska for the past year."

"We'll find Princess Shayla if you can keep these guys off our tail," Troy said.

Taylor and Cole exchanged a glance, and then both nodded at him. Gia could see it was a tough decision for the two leaders of the team. It said something about their trust in the other rangers.

The Megaforce team grouped together, and Troy pulled out his morpher. "No time to waste anymore," he said. "It's morphin' time!" Their civilian clothes disappeared, replaced by the protective Ranger suits. "And one more," Troy said, turning the key. "Wild Access!"

Alyssa, Cole, Taylor, Max and Danny gasped as the five rangers, originally in pirates suits, now changed…into their old uniforms. "Whoa!" Max applauded. "That's epic!"

"How does _that_ work?" Taylor asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"They look _awesome_!" Danny proclaimed, pointing to Jake in awe.

"Less staring, more fighting!" Cole suggested, and then the X-borgs were on them.


	38. Taking Chances

"Go!" Cole commanded. The general roared and threw Cole and Danny backwards, but the others were there, keeping him occupied.

"Come on, guys!" Noah waved the Megaforce team forward in their Wild Force uniforms. The claws in the gloves of the suits made the climb a little easier. Ahead of them, Troy could see the mouth of the cave he'd spotted earlier. "We're almost there."

The mouth of the cave was pitch black, but inside, there was definitely movement. The rangers approached with caution. About twenty feet into the cave, they came upon four X-borgs standing over a woman in a white dress. Her arms were crossed defiantly over her chest and she was seated on a boulder near the cave wall.

"The Zords have been warned. They will not come anywhere _near_ this mountain!" she was telling them.

The rangers exploded from the darkness, taking out the X-borgs with ease. The woman gasped and gripped the boulder with a white knuckle grip. She looked at the uniforms, and broke into a huge smile.

"You heard my call! It is good to see you again, Rangers!" she greeted them gratefully.

"Well," Troy said, taking off his helmet. "Actually, we're not who you think we are."

"Princess Shayla, I presume?" Gia asked, holding her helmet out in front of her. The Wild Force uniforms disappeared, leaving them in their pirate gear.

Shayla looked, well, royally confused. "Who-"

"It's a long story," Troy admitted. "One I'll happily tell you when we get out of here. The Wild Force rangers are here and they need our help."

"They're _here_?" Shayla breathed. "This is an amazing day."

"You've got no idea," Jake muttered under his breath, then, hearing the sounds of fighting getting closer outside, "Okay, we should go."

* * *

The legendary Wild Force team was busy battling the group of X-borgs and the general up the mountain. Max and Danny were tag-teaming the general, and Cole, Taylor and Alyssa were handling the X-borgs. Despite not having any powers, their years of fighting were still ingrained enough that they had no problem-at least holding their own, anyway. As the last of the X-borgs fell, Cole turned his attention to Danny and Max, who were both thrown to the ground at that moment by the general. Taylor and Alyssa helped them to their feet, and they glared at him.

"Get off our island!" Taylor yelled at him.

He smirked. "Not likely. Five mere humans cannot defeat me."

"How about five humans and five rangers?" Troy's voice cut through the air, and the general looked above him to see the five helmeted Megaforce rangers. Behind them, Taylor saw Princess Shayla. If looks could kill, the general would have been dead and buried. She looked furious.

Gia looked at Troy. "Time for them to hear us roar!" she said.

"Let's go Legendary again!" Emma suggested.

Troy nodded in agreement. "Wild Access!" The words echoed up and down the hillside as the Wild Force uniforms appeared again.

"A costume change won't help you!" the alien general growled, menacing toward them. "Come and get me!"

Noah grinned, brandishing his sabre. "Well," he said, looking at Troy, "he asked for it."

Then, they were on him. And, as if they sensed it was all right to join in, a moment later, a large blue antelope Zord and a screaming yellow eagle appeared. As all the rangers and Princess Shayla moved out of the way, the antelope used its' antlers to scoop up the general and fling him. The Eagle, not to be outdone, gripped the flying general with her claws and soared out over the island.

The rangers saw the general drop. Then, the loud roar of the Red Lion.

"He sounded pretty happy with himself," Jake whispered to Gia.

Gia didn't even flinch as Taylor came up to stand next to her, putting an arm around her. "Good for him," Taylor said flatly, and Gia laughed.

* * *

"I bet Emma wishes she had her camera," Noah was telling Troy later. He pointed to where Emma was perched in a tall tree as a bright orange giraffe nudged her with its' head. Out on the lake, there was a resounding splash as a great blue shark leapt from the water like it was a dolphin.

Troy watched as the giraffe bumped her again and she teetered on the branch. He frowned.

"No worries," Danny told them as he came up to them. "He won't hurt her. He's just making friends." The big man clapped them both on the back. "Speaking of friends, thanks for coming to ours' rescue today."

"No problem," Noah said. He grinned. "This was awesome."

* * *

Taylor and Gia were walking alongside the lake, a white tiger plodding behind them. Taylor caught Gia sneaking a glance up the grass at Jake, who was sitting with Max, Alyssa and Cole. Behind them, a black bison was snoring. "So, how long have the two of you been dating?" Taylor asked her as they walked.

Gia jerked. "Us? We-dating? I-?"

Taylor laughed. "It's obvious you like him," she shrugged. "He reminds me a lot of my husband Eric."

"You're married?" Gia responded dumbly. Her mind was still caught up on the word 'dating'.

Taylor nodded. "Yeah. He's a ranger too. Eric Meyers. Or, he was. He was on the Time Force team. First time I met him, he pulled me over for driving too fast in Silver Hills. I was so mad," she chuckled, remembering. "Thought he was on a power trip. I couldn't stand him. He was all attitude and sunglasses."

"What changed your mind?" Gia asked.

"I gave him a chance," Taylor told her. "Turned out underneath the tough exterior there was a guy who owned two white doves and liked picnics. Who knew?"

"And being a Ranger….knowing the two of you…that one of you might…that didn't bother you?" Gia had stopped walking now, staring out on the water.

Taylor joined her and the two of them sat in the grass on the edge. "It'd be the same if you were two regular people," she replied. "There's risk every time you guys leave your house in the morning for school, right? One of you could get hit by a bus." Gia snorted, and Taylor continued. "There's risk no matter what. Yeah, he could break your heart, but…you never know until you give him a try, right?"

Gia was quiet for a moment. Then, she nodded. "I'll be right back."

Taylor watched her get up from her spot and walk over to the group Jake was sitting with, grabbing him by the jacket and dragging him away from the group. As she watched the two of them talk, she saw Jake's eyes light up, his face break into a huge grin, and then they were hugging.

* * *

The sun was just setting over the Pacific as Troy set the Skyship down on the water near the command center. He came out on deck and joined Emma at the rail. Her eyes were closed and she was probably, Troy mused, trying to capture the mental picture of the Animarium forever-even though Alyssa had promised her they could come back and visit any time…if they could find it.

And, Cole had promised Troy, if they ever needed him, Red Lion was at their beck and call. They'd more than proven themselves worthy, fighting their way across the Animarium to rescue Princess Shayla.

Finally, she opened her eyes and looked at him. "Hi," she said.

"Hi back," he replied. "Watcha thinkin' about?"

"We couldn't have better allies," Emma said after a minute. "I'm so excited we got to meet the Wild Force team."

"Me too. I'll have to ask my Dad about Cole," Troy said. "Dad said something one time about a bunch of Red Rangers and a mission on the moon."

"That's…random," Emma frowned, and Troy laughed as they climbed out of the ship, their uniforms disappearing in a flash of light. "Speaking of random, did you see Jake and Gia holding hands?" she asked with a triumphant smile. "It's about time."

"Yeah, I know. I'm glad they finally took a chance." Troy slipped his hands into his girlfriend's. "Should I walk you home?"

"Actually, Gia and I are driving home together," Emma said as they walked up to where Gia and Jake were standing. Noah had stopped off in the command center. Troy glanced at Jake, who still had a goofy happy look on his face. "We've got boys to gossip about," she added, linking arms with her friend and sauntering off toward the public parking lot a ways down the beach, leaving Troy and Jake standing with their jaws in the sand.

"They talk about us?" Jake stammered.

Troy nodded. "I guess," he said after a minute. "What do you think they talk about?"

Jake blinked. "Knowing those two….everything."

The two of them exchanged a look and grimaced.


	39. Stressed Out

Carter Grayson set his coffee down and watched with interest as his son performed a perfectly-executed snap kick to their back fence, followed immediately by a right cross. It was ten AM on a Saturday. Normally, Troy would be out with friends, or doing homework, but instead, for some reason, he was pounding the crap out of their back fence.

"What's up?" Dana asked, fixing one of her amethyst stud earrings. She was headed off to work.

Carter pointed with his coffee mug. "Our fence has apparently offended our son," he told her. Mother and father watched their son duck low and sweep a foot past the bottom of the lilac bush that grew in their backyard, then come back up and throw an elbow into the fence. "I hope our neighbors don't mind," Carter winced as the fence rattled.

Dana glanced over to the kitchen table. Troy's red cell phone lay on the placemat. She brushed the screen with her finger and looked at it. Spotting his text message app, she popped it open and frowned. "Maybe this has something to do with it," she suggested, handing it off to Carter.

Carter thumbed through the conversation with Emma Goodall. He grimaced. "Maybe it's a good thing I have the day off," he decided. "I think my son and I need to have a talk."

"Lucky you," Dana said with a smile. She stole his mug and drank the last of his coffee.

"Thanks," Carter said, his eyes focused on Troy, who was now laying on the grass, staring up at the gray sky.

Dana kissed him and Carter heard the front door close a few moments later, followed by the sound of her car backing from the driveway. He sighed, looking down at his empty mug. "Could've used that last shot of caffeine," he said out loud. Then, he pushed the sliding glass door open. "Hey, Troy?" he called out.

On the ground, he saw Troy open one eye, and then roll it in his general direction. _This is going to be a great conversation_ , Carter thought. He stepped out into the yard and sat down in the damp grass next to Troy. "Something going on?" he asked. He nodded toward the fence. "One of the Armada monsters?" he asked. "Should I be worried it's going to grow eight stories?"

Troy ignored him and stared skyward.

"Something happen?" Carter asked, prodding. When Troy still didn't answer, "Between you and Emma?"

His son's eyes flashed. _There we go._ "Mom and I saw your texts," he continued. "You wanna tell me what happened?"

"You looked at my phone?" Troy asked, though he didn't sound surprised. When they'd lived in Mariner Bay, his mother had made a habit of looking at his phone. Apparently his passwords were easy to crack.

"Um, you're kicking the crap out of our fence," Carter pointed out. "Yeah, I'd say that gives us probable cause. I know stuff's been tough lately on the monster front, but you seemed like you were handling it, so…what happened?"

Troy sighed. "It wasn't just me and Emma," he admitted. "It's me and the entire team," he explained, at his dad's confused look. "So, you know Monday, we had the day off from school, right? So we thought we'd go to the zoo…"

* * *

_Two days ago..._

Emma's shutter clicked in quick succession as the two baby pandas rolled over the top of each other. She and Gia oohed and aahed over the little balls of black and white fluff. "They're _so_ cute!" Emma gushed.

"'They're _soo_ cute'!" Jake mimicked Emma, earning him an elbow from Gia. "What _is_ it with girls and pandas?" he asked Noah.

"Dude, they're cute," Noah replied. "It's not a girl thing. It's a fluffy balls of cuteness thing." He grinned. "Did you know pandas are actually closer related to raccoons than bears?" He grinned. "You can especially see it right around the eyes."

Troy snickered as Jake groaned. Troy looked at his watch and clapped Jake on the shoulder. "Guys, they're gonna do the tiger feeding. Let's go!"

"Sweet!" Jake proclaimed.

Gia smiled. "What is it with guys and big cats?" she asked Emma innocently as she linked her arm with her friend's and sauntered away in the direction of the big cat enclosure.

Noah burst out laughing as he clapped Jake on the shoulder. "You guys are a match made in heaven," he teased Jake as the guys followed the girls down the paved path, where a crowd was starting to gather. The five of them crowded near the rail and looked down. Below them about fifteen feet, two giant Bengal tigers prowled. Standing in the enclosure with them was a young man who didn't look much older than the group, with brown hair. He wore the zoo uniform and was holding a bucket. Emma gasped as one of the big tigers walked toward him. He didn't seem fazed by the giant predator stalking up next to him. "Wow. I'd be freaking out right now," Emma muttered to Gia, her camera capturing the whole thing.

"It's like he's one with the tiger," Noah said, in awe as well. They stared transfixed as the zookeeper stuck a hand in the bucket, pulling out what looked like a raw piece of steak, and handed it to the tiger. The tiger cocked it's head, studying it, and then, to the onlookers delight, snatched it right from the guy's hand, sat down, and chewed away.

"That's some crazy Steve Irwin stuff right there," Jake declared. "Totally nuts."

"I guess he's been working here awhile and the tigers are just used to him?" Troy offered. He didn't quite believe it himself.

"That would be _so_ cool," Emma enthused. "To be that close to something that beautiful…"

"I already am," Jake grinned, putting a hand around Gia's shoulders. Noah snorted and Gia elbowed him in the side. The five of them went off laughing to explore more of the exhibits, but Troy's mind was on the tiger keeper. What they'd seen…it reminded him a lot of what they'd seen on the Animarium with Cole and Taylor and the Wild Zords.

The Harwood Zoo was fairly large, second only to the famous San Diego Zoo, so by the time they'd finished scoping out the rest of the exhibits, and Emma had filled her memory card on her camera with thousands of pictures, Jake was starving (his words, not theirs). They found a vendor selling hot dogs and lemonade and the guys gallantly paid and they crowded at a picnic table, enjoying the sunshine.

It had been a few days since the last monster attack and they were enjoying the much-needed break. It was easy to see they were worn out. Troy hadn't been sleeping and Emma's grades were slipping, a testament to the time-consuming nature of their side jobs. Noah was starting to get permanent calluses on his fingers from hours spent poring over the footage of past rangers, and Jake's soccer coach was threatening to pull him from the squad over missed drills. Gia was a little more fiery in her arguments and debates, and Troy was giving her meditation pointers to settle her temper.

Troy caught Emma snapping a photo on her phone pointed between Noah and Jake's shoulders, and he craned his neck to see the zookeeper from the tiger enclosure coming out of the employee building. He was shrugging into a black leather jacket with a red and white embroidered scratch on the back. "Cool logo," he noted, and Gia turned.

"Sweet jacket," she proclaimed, pulling the sleeves down on her own. "Wonder if I could get something like that on the back of mine?"

"Go ask him," Noah suggested.

Gia grinned. "Okay," she said, and got up from the table. Jake's jaw dropped as she strode up to the zookeeper.

"Fearless as a tiger," Emma noted of her best friend, grinning as she watched the conversation. They watched as Gia laughed about something and the zookeeper turned around, showing off the logo. He shook Gia's hand and Gia came back over to the group, still chuckling about something.

"What?" Jake demanded, and Troy thought he detected…something…in his voice.

"So, his name is Casey," Gia explained. "He teaches martial arts in the park on Saturdays, and the logo is the logo of his studio." She grinned. "It's called Pai Zhua. I told him it sounded like pizza, and he told me his first job was in a pizza place in Ocean Bluff." She smiled, looking at Emma. "He's cute and funny. If-"

"If what?" Jake cut in and the others turned at the sudden outburst. "If you weren't dating me, you'd be flirting with him?"

Gia frowned. "Jake, I-"

"You know what? I'm gonna go hit the field and kick a few shots on goal," Jake said, standing. "I'll catch you guys later." He banged his foot climbing out from the picnic table, but it didn't seem to bother him any as he took off.

Gia's mouth hung open. "What did I say?" she demanded. She looked at the others. "Did I say something?"

"What were you _going_ to say?" Noah asked her carefully.

"I was _going_ to say," Gia bit, looking sharply at Noah, "that if Emma wasn't dating _Troy_ I'd have tried to hook the two of them up!" She slammed her lemonade down on the table. "Make sure you tell him that next time you see him, Noah." With that, she got up and stalked off in the other direction.

Noah, Emma and Troy looked at each other around the table. "Whoa," Emma breathed. "That was pretty intense."

"I think the stress is getting to them both," Noah offered, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "It's got to be hard having a relationship on top of everything else." He pointed at Troy and Emma. "I don't know how you guys are doing it. I mean, I'm glad and everything, but….it's pretty amazing, considering." He slipped his messenger bag over his shoulder. "I'm gonna go try to talk to Jake. Talk to you guys later?" Troy nodded and Noah took off after Jake.

Emma looked at Troy. "I hope they'll be okay," she said. She looked miserable, and Troy grabbed at her hand. He knew that she took all their friendships seriously, so to have two of them fighting was personal to her.

"They'll be okay," Troy said. "Will you?"

She managed a nod. "I think so." She took a deep breath and let it out. "Can we go back and look at the pandas again?" she asked him, and Troy smiled. If it would make her happy, he'd watch them all day.

* * *

The next day after school, Troy decided to cut through the park that ran behind his neighborhood on the way back from last period. He had his earbuds in and tucked his jacket in his backpack. As he walked, he mentally ran through a kata his Uncle Chad had tried teaching him a few weekends ago. He couldn't quite get the movements, but then, it wasn't like he'd had a whole lot of free time to practice.

Jake and Gia hadn't spoken to each other the entire day. Noah was running interference between the two of them and Troy and Emma. It hadn't been a good day. Emma had gotten a low grade on a pop quiz and Troy had somehow managed to trip over his own feet in phy ed and was sporting a nasty bruise on his knee. He'd never fallen over his own feet before, and he was the only person in class who hadn't found it amusing in the slightest. He was going directly home to ice it.

For the first time since becoming a Ranger…he didn't want to be one anymore. It was too much. It was affecting their personal lives. What good was saving the earth going to be if they all failed their junior year? He shook his head, realizing how trivial that sounded. But seriously. What about if they saved the earth but couldn't stay friends? What if Jake and Gia never mended their relationship? Could they even be a team if two of them were on the outs? He didn't know if he could lead a team that was two-fifths not speaking to each other.

_What if he and Emma were next?_

He limped painfully up a rise and stopped. His knee throbbed, but it wasn't the reason he'd pulled up short. Ahead of him, Emma and Jake were walking together. Jake said something and Emma laughed, patting him on the back. Jake reached over and took her backpack from her, slinging it over his shoulder.

The pain in his knee disappeared, replaced with anger. He walked down the hill and pushed Jake from behind. "On the rebound so soon?" he growled.

Emma gasped. "Troy? What are you _doing_?"

Jake whirled to face him. "What's your _problem_?" he yelled. Several people stopped to stare. "What the hell was that for?"

"You got over Gia pretty fast there, Jake," Troy seethed. "Flirting with her best friend won't get you back in her good graces."

" _Flirting_?" Jake yelled at the same time Emma exploded, "He wasn't flirting with me!"

"Really?" Troy demanded. "So then what was all that?" he asked.

Emma looked confused-or at least, to Troy, she was playing her part well. "I don't know what you're talking about Troy!" Emma told him flatly. "He wasn't-we weren't-"

"I'm sure you weren't." Before Troy could say anything else, their morphers beeped. Troy swore. "Perfect freaking timing." The three of them took off into the trees away from the crowd as Tensou chirped news of a monster attack at them.

"Channel your aggression at that thing," Jake hissed at Troy as they teleported into the city to face one of Prince Vekar's monsters. Gia and Noah were there already.

"Maybe if you _flirt_ with it, it'll go away," Troy hissed back.

Noah frowned behind his helmet. "Uh. Okay...what'd we miss?"


	40. Heart to Heart

The tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife, or in this case, a sabre. It wasn't just the team versus the monster, it was the team against itself. Troy ignored Noah's question and turned to face the monster. "Let's blast him, Rangers!"

"One step at a time," Gia offered as she and Noah started slicing and kicking their way through a barrage of X-Borgs. "Flunkies first."

"Whatever you say," Jake muttered, loud enough for her to hear. As soon as he had an open path, he attacked the monster and Emma darted through to help him. Troy caught the two of them fighting the monster together - _together, of course_ -and in frustration, kicked an X-Borg so hard it flew over the top of a hood of a car like a deer getting hit in the road. Then, he came up with a roll and aimed his blaster at the monster. Noah had his sabre thrust forward. He couldn't see Noah's eyes through the helmet but he was pretty sure he wouldn't like Noah's look. "You're next!" he yelled at the monster.

The monster smirked, if a monster could smirk. "Fire away!" he gestured, opening his hands in a surrender gesture. Troy felt a tug on his blaster, like someone was trying to pull it from his hands. "It's coming from him!" Noah said beside him, struggling to hold onto his sabre. The magnetic force was strong. Troy felt as if he was hanging onto something for dear life. Then, his fingers slipped from the stock and flew out of his hands. He stumbled awkwardly forward, nearly hitting Jake. Jake glanced sideways at him.

"Is that all you got?" The monster seemed amused. "Your skills are sorely lacking."

"Not all of us need to rely on weapons!" Gia yelled at him.

" Some of us prefer our fists." Jake added.

"Yeah, that's not threatening at _all_ ," Gia bit out. Before Jake could snap a retort back, Troy stepped forward.

"Let's go Legendary…Wild Access!" Troy's suit changed into the Red Lion color scheme of the Wild Force Red Ranger.

"Whatever you say," Jake sighed, his suit transforming in a burst of black light. Gia was first to attack, using the wings of the Yellow Wild Force suit to get a quick rush at the monster. The monster grabbed her ankles and threw her over the top of him. Emma attacked next, the claws on the White Tiger suit raking across his chest. Noah followed behind her. Both of them were sent flying. Troy and Jake attacked together, but without a cohesive attack plan, the glancing blows didn't do anything. Troy found himself flat on his back. Jake landed on top of him, and Troy shoved him away. "Get off me, man."

"You don't have what it takes." The monster sounded bored. "I'll be back to finish you all." He disappeared with a shimmer, leaving the rangers scattered on the ground. Troy climbed to his feet, the Wild Force suit flashing away. He slammed a hand into a wall, yelling in frustration.

"We had no idea he'd be that powerful." Ever the peacemaker, Emma tried speaking to Troy, putting a hand on his shoulder, her suit disappearing in a burst of white light. "You're being too hard on yourself-"

Troy shrugged her hand off, and she tentatively took it back. "No. I'm not." It wasn't just the loss of his blaster, it was how the battle had gone. It was ridiculous. He turned to Jake and Gia. "If you guys would have your stuff together-"

"Whoa, hold on," Gia protested. "Excuse me?" she added. "This from the guy who is currently having the passive-aggressive fight with Jake?"

"Who you calling passive?" Jake shot back.

"Guys-" Noah tried, but was greeted with a chorus of 'Shut up!' from everyone else.

"Your relationship is affecting our team!" Troy yelled at Jake. "You guys are fighting and it's causing major tension!"

"Then I guess it's rubbing off!" Jake yelled back. " _You're_ the jerk who decided to pummel me in the park!"

"You did _what_?" Noah asked incredulously as Gia stepped forward.

"Hey, the only person who's allowed to hit him is _me_ ," she stressed. "And what we do or don't do is none of your business, Troy Grayson!"

"It is when it affects my team!" Troy countered.

" _Your_ team?" That came from Emma, who had been mostly quiet throughout the argument. Now she looked at Troy. His gray eyes matched her brown ones. "Last I checked, Troy, we're all in this together," she said quietly. "It's _our_ team."

"No, it's not." Troy crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm the leader of this team-"

"And you're doing a bang up job," Gia barked at him. She shook her head. "You're being really obnoxious right now, and I'm tired of it." She looked at Jake. "I'm out of here."

Jake nodded. "Same. Catch you later." He followed her. Gia turned, saw him coming, and changed direction.

Troy looked at Noah and Emma. "Guys-" he began, but Emma shook her head.

"Save it," she said. "Gia's right. You're being really unreasonable. We are _all_ stressed out right now," she told him. "I think we need a breather from each other." She looked at Noah. "See you later, Noah," she said, and walked away.

Troy looked at Noah. "What about you?" he asked.

Noah bit his lip. "I think she's right. Look, you know that I don't have a lot of friends, except for you guys," Noah admitted. "And I really don't want to lose you guys. So if we need time to cool off, then I'm all for it." He sighed. "I've been feeling like a fifth wheel lately anyway. It'll be nice to have some time to myself." He offered Troy an awkward wave. "I'll catch you later."

* * *

Carter rocked back on his arms as his son finished his story. "Wow," he said finally. Troy looked miserable as he finished recounting the events of the past few days.

"That's all you can say?" Troy demanded. "'Wow'?"

Carter shrugged. "Give me a second to process." He was quiet for a bit. "I think I agree with Emma," he said after a moment. At Troy's startled look, he continued. "You guys have spent the better part of what…eight or nine months together? That's a _long_ time. And even with help, you've mostly had to fight this fight alone." He leaned back on his arms. "It was different for us," he remembered. "We quit our day jobs to be Rangers," he remembered. "We didn't have school to worry about. And none of us were dating at the time, although there were definitely crushes."

"How did you do it, Dad?" Troy whispered. "I can't lead this team anymore. They don't trust me. We're falling apart. We're losing the war, Dad." He closed his eyes. "Every battle we win, more keep coming. We're just holding them off. We're not winning." He sighed. "I can't keep being this positive force anymore. It's too hard. I'm tired. I don't believe we're going to win."

"Then you're not going to." Carter leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "And you might as well send up the white flag now, if you're going to give up." He looked at Troy seriously. "Is that _really_ how you feel?"

"No," Troy said after a minute. "But-"

"I get it," Carter interrupted. "God knows I do. There were moments in that last battle I wished that Leo or anybody was there to help us. They were there. They could've come help us. But they didn't."

"But _why_?" Troy asked. "This is _way_ bigger than some demons. No offense," he said quickly at his father's amused look. "We could be over and done with by now if you guys had your morphers, or Cole and the Wild Force team came to help us out, or Bridge and the SPD rangers came back."

"But son," Carter said gently, "it's not their fight." He knew Troy had heard this before. "It's yours." He put a hand on Troy's shoulder. "Personally, I think _this_ fight is a good thing," he said. "You guys have had a lot of tension building up, and it's about time it came to a head. You can't fight a battle if you're fighting something internally on top of it."

"We're not going to be able to fight a battle," Troy said miserably. "We're fighting each other."

"Well, I hate to say it, but you guys need to figure that out sooner rather than later. The Armada's not going to wait for you to solve your personal problems. And, young man, _your_ biggest problem is confidence," he informed Troy. "It always has been. You need to _believe_ you're going to win. You can win this war, lead this team _and_ get the girl, if you believe you can." He grinned, and the corner of Troy's mouth twitched. "Now, since you've decided to play hooky from school today," he added, and watched his son's ears turn red, "you might as well start doing something about it."

"What do I-" Troy paused. "Noah. Noah and I are mostly on speaking terms at the moment. I could start there."

Carter nodded encouragingly. "Any idea where he's at?"

Troy nodded. "Computer lab at school. He practically lives there."

"Okay, good. So go there after school-barring another monster attack-and start there." Carter pulled his son into a hug. "You know, despite what you think, you're a great Red Ranger." He grinned. "Maybe not quite as great as your old man, but…"

Troy rolled his eyes and rolled out from under his dad's arm. "Well, anytime you want to take over again, you let me know," he said, and stood up, brushing himself off before heading into the house.

Carter looked at his son's retreating figure. "If I could, I would," he said quietly to the empty yard.

* * *

Troy waited until the bell rang for the end of the day before he ducked into the building. He avoided the hallway that Emma and the others usually took out of the school and slipped down a side hall to the computer lab. Sure enough, Noah was crouched over a screen, his backpack tossed on the floor. He took a deep breath, and pushed the door open. "Hey," he said quietly.

Noah jerked, and turned around. "Troy. Hi."

Troy glanced around. "How long have you been in here?"

His friend in blue thought about it. "Um. Most of the day. I begged off classes and kind of hid in here all day."

"I wasn't here either," Troy said. "I hid at home."

Noah smiled. "Considering how upset Gia and Emma are, that was probably wise."

Troy nodded. "Yeah, I know." He nodded to the screen. "What, um, what are you working on?"

"I wanted to figure out a weapon that monster can't suck away. Maybe something made out of a different alloy." Noah leaned back in the chair and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "And that logo on the back of that zookeeper's jacket has been bugging me."

"Really?" Troy glanced around, located a free chair, and slid it over, sitting in it backwards and leaning on the backrest. "How so?"

"I've seen it before somewhere. I just don't know where." He absently tapped through the database that Tensou had downloaded for him.

"Wait." Troy slid the chair closer to the screen. "Scroll back up."

Noah complied, sliding the mouse back up. "Oh," he said, instantly seeing what Troy saw.

The scratch logo on the back of Casey's jacket stared at them from the screen. "That's the symbol for the Pai Zhua Ninja academy," Noah read. His eyes widened. "The Pai Zhua trained the Jungle Fury rangers!"

"So that zookeeper-"

"He's Casey Rhodes!" Noah realized. "He's the Red Jungle Fury Ranger!" He looked at Troy excitedly. "Here, read this." He pointed to paragraph under the picture.

"'Order of the Claw. Inside of everyone is an animal spirit. With proper training you can unleash your inner animal spirit.'" Troy finished reading. "You think this Casey could maybe teach us that? We could use the extra boost."

"Gia said he teaches classes in the park on Saturdays," Noah remembered. His face fell. "But we have to get everyone together first."

"Leave that to me," Troy said. "I think I have an idea."


	41. Pai Zhua and Pizza

_Saturday_

It was complete torture for Troy to keep his idea until Saturday, but he didn't want school interfering with his plan to get the team together. Saturday morning, Troy had Gosei send an SOS that there were monsters in the park. Then, he sat down on a bench and waited until the group teleported in.

Jake and Emma arrived around the same time. As soon as Jake saw Troy sitting on the bench, he realized they'd been had. "No. No way," he said, and turned to leave. Emma caught his jacket.

"Wait," she said. "Let's hear what he has to say."

Troy offered her a grateful smile that she half returned, and then Gia appeared. "What's going on?" she demanded. "Where's the monster?"

"Nowhere," Troy told her. "I needed a way to get everyone together, and I figured a group text wasn't going to do it."

She frowned. "Not bad, Grayson," she admitted finally. "Where's-"

Noah arrived a moment later, his laptop bag swinging against his leg as his bike rolled to a stop. He must have been nearby. "Hey guys," he greeted.

"So what's up, Troy?" Jake demanded. "You called a fake monster attack to get us all here…what do you want?"

"To apologize," he said simply. "I'm sorry that I flew off the handle the other day. We've all been under a lot of stress lately but that's no excuse. What I said was wrong. _We_ are a team, together," he stressed. "I once said I wouldn't lead this team unless you wanted me to." He stood up. "So, do you?"

Everyone was silent. Then, Gia spoke. "We can't do this without you," she said. "We're better together," she said, looking around. " _All_ of us," she added, looking pointedly at Jake. "If we don't fight together, we're not going to win."

"And I have a way we can do that," Troy said. "We don't have our weapons, thanks to that monster the other day. But Gia managed to make a friend that I think can help us."

"She did?" Jake asked, looking at his girlfriend. She frowned, clearly confused.

Troy nodded, and pointed behind him. Silhouetted in the early morning sun were three figures. One wore a black jacket with a red claw scratched into the back of it. "The zoo keeper?" Gia questioned. "I don't-"

Noah flipped his laptop around to show them the Pai Zhua logo. "That's the symbol of the Jungle Fury Power Rangers," he explained to them. Emma looked up at Troy in surprise. He grinned, and to his immense relief, she grinned back. "I think they can help us tap into something we could use," he said. "We won't always be able to rely on our weapons. Sometimes, we need to use our hands and feet as the weapons."

"That's brilliant!" Emma exclaimed. "But what does the guy from the zoo have to do with anything?"

"The 'guy from the zoo,'" a new voice said, and the team all turned in surprise to find the man in question standing behind them, "is the Red Jungle Fury Ranger." Casey Rhodes stood the same height as Troy, with spiky brown hair. He wore his black jacket over a pair of jeans and a red shirt that boasted the logo of Jungle Karma Pizza. Casey nodded to his companions, an older man and an Asian man who looked a little older than Casey. "This is RJ James and Theo Martin."

"Greetings," RJ said, in the laid-back tone of a Venice Beach surfer. He grinned. Theo offered Troy a hand. Troy shook it, and then turned to Casey.

"Our sabres and blasters were taken in a fight against an Armada monster the other day. We need to get them back."

"Bare hands can be as mighty as any weapon out there," Casey said with a glance at Theo, who was nodding in agreement. "We can teach you that. Our spirit animals-the tiger, the wolf and the jaguar-use their claws and teeth in a fight."

"Maybe we'll pass on teaching them the 'teeth' part," RJ suggested, and Noah chuckled.

"Let's get started," Theo said, ever to the point.

* * *

The three Jungle Fury rangers put the Megaforce team through their paces. Emma was paired with Jake for the exercise, and Theo couldn't help but notice Troy's glance at them every now and again. He switched places with Casey, who was working with him, and sent Casey over to practice with Gia. "I know that look," Theo said. Troy raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Theo waved a hand toward Emma and Jake. "That." He smiled faintly. "When I was training with Casey and Lily, who's our Yellow Ranger, I thought Casey had a thing for Lily. Turns out Lily didn't have a thing for Casey. It was all in my head. They were good friends and nothing more." He looked at Troy. "Those friendships are important, you know. It's good that she's got someone to count on, if you were ever unavailable," he told him.

Troy dropped his head. "Is it that obvious?"

Theo laughed. "Yes," he said. "But I wouldn't worry about it. I get a pretty strong vibe that Emma's yours as long as you'd like her to be."

Troy looked over at Emma. Instead of feeling jealous, this time, he felt impressed. He thought back to the time she took on Dream Snatcher. He watched her duck under Jake's leg and sweep a leg out from under him. She was incredible. In the early morning light, she was beautiful.

And she was _his_ girlfriend. Not Jake's. Not anybody's. Just his.

Troy turned to Theo. "Thanks, Master Martin," he said.

"You're welcome," Theo said, and then clapped his hands to bring the group together. Casey and RJ exchanged a glance.

"When did we put him in charge?" RJ whispered, loud enough for Theo to hear. Theo ran a hand through his black hair, embarrassed. Casey laughed.

"We've only got a short time," Casey told the teenagers. "So I leave you with this parting advice: Control your instincts. Never use your powers in anger, only as a means of survival."

"Dig deep, and concentrate," RJ added. "Who knows," he continued. "Maybe you've all got animal spirits inside of you, too."

Emma looked thrilled by that prospect, and Troy squeezed her hand. She looked up at him with a happy smile. Troy returned it, and glanced up at Theo. Theo nodded knowingly.

Then, as if it was planned, five morphers chimed in the silence. "You better answer those morphers," Casey told them. Troy nodded.

"Thank you, Master Rhodes," Gia said.

"Yeah, man, you guys are amazing!" Jake pronounced.

RJ made a 'shoo' motion with his hands. "Dude…just go already!"

* * *

The Rangers met up with the monster again, this time, as a united front. "It's time to finish what we started!" Troy yelled out.

The monster smirked again. "You color-coded losers are nothing without your weapons!" Their sabres and blasters were still magnetically attached to his chest.

"He wants to fight us hand to hand so bad, let's show him what we can do," Gia offered. Jake nodded in agreement.

"Let's put our lessons to good use!" Noah declared.

"Jungle Beasts!" Troy yelled, stepping forward with his morpher held out. "Spirit Unleashed!"

There was a flash of light, and the five of them surged forward. Troy's uniforms had tiger stripes. Gia's and Noah's both had spots-but Gia's were cheetah and Noah's were leopard spots. Emma's uniform was white with orange striping down the sides, and Jake's helmet and uniform were purple.

"Let's wipe that smirk right off his face!" Emma yelled. "Together!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Troy agreed under his helmet.

* * *

"This was totally worth the train ride," Troy said later. The five of them were sitting in a corner booth in Ocean Bluff inside Jungle Karma Pizza. A woman with glasses was walking over to them with a tray of sodas to go along with a pizza that nearly filled the table. She grinned under her orange baseball cap. "How's the pizza?" she asked. Her nametag read Fran.

"Amazing!" Jake pronounced.

"You like that word," RJ noted, coming up to the table. Jake took a bite of pizza to avoid a comeback.

"We figured to say thanks for everything you guys did," Troy told RJ, "that we'd come give you guys some business in return."

"And we appreciate it," Lily Chilman said, leaning over the top of the booth, Theo in tow. "It's a shame Casey had to work today."

"How does a Pai Zhua master end up working at a zoo?" Gia asked.

"Oh, he lost a bet." The comment came from a man with short blonde hair who wore a JKP hat backwards.

"What?" Theo looked at him. "What bet, Dom?"

Dominic Hargan grinned. "I bet him he couldn't toss two pizzas at a time, even in morph." He laughed. "And he can't."

"So he had to go clean tiger cages?" Jake's jaw dropped. "At a zoo three hours away?"

The Rhino Ranger shrugged. "It was close, and they had a tiger exhibit."

"So…what would've happened if _you'd_ lost?" RJ asked his friend.

Dom grimaced. "You don't want to know," he told him.

On the train ride home that night, Emma and Troy were the only ones awake. Emma was leaning on Troy's shoulder looking out the window. "That was a lot of fun," she told him. "I'm glad we went. It was like a friendship field trip."

"Bonding over pizza," Troy agreed. "Really, _really_ good pizza, by the way."

"Oh yeah-whoa!" Emma broke off midsentence as something bright flashed out the window. She and Troy leaned over and watched a bright streak dart across the sky. It disappeared as they went into a tunnel.

* * *

The silver streak landed somewhere in the state park, bouncing once, then coming to rest in a small gully. The small spacecraft was burned and smoking. After a moment, a hatch popped and a figure climbed out of the smoking wreck. They surveyed the wreck for a moment, and then climbed the side of the gully, coming to rest their eyes on the city lights.


	42. A Helping Hand

Someone smacked Troy's foot, and Troy jerked awake. Jake turned back to look ahead as Mr. Burley continued in his lecture. Because even with an alien invasion…biology and school went on.

"Considering everything we've been through, a 'normal' moment like walking or riding the bus to school is actually quite remarkable," Burley was saying. His eyes panned the room. "Not long ago the fate of our entire world was completely uncertain, and yet despite the monumental adversity we faced, we've managed to return to a relatively normal routine."

 _Well, some of us,_ Troy thought wryly. If his parents going to work and him going to school only to be interrupted on a semidaily basis by an alien armada was normal, well, then he had a normal life. At least according to Elton Burley.

"Yeah, thanks to the Power Rangers!" the girl across from Troy enthused. There was a chorus of agreement from around the room. Troy glanced up the aisle at Emma, who had discreetly slid her hair to the side of her face so no one could see her turning red. Jake and Noah exchanged a quiet high five and Gia was leaning back in her chair, a small smile playing on her face.

He wondered if their fellow students knew how hard it was. How tired they were. But how tirelessly they would continue to fight for them to keep them safe. And how grateful they were for the support they were getting. Even if it was just small outbursts like the one they'd just witnessed.

Troy was so tired he wasn't sure if the words would form, but he felt like he needed to say something. "No," he said quietly, and the class fell silent, turning to look at him. "The Rangers, they played their part, but when it came to rebuilding the school? Or the mall? Who did that?" Troy asked his fellow students, looking around the room. "You guy-everyone did," he covered quickly. "Everyone did that. Or when it came to rebuilding the rest of the city, who did that? Ordinary people, just like us." _Man, it's hard not to use words like 'you guys' or 'people like you.'_ "Even if there were no Power Rangers," he continued, "we would've made a stand…right down to the last man."

"Hear hear!" Jake whooped, and the class applauded. Emma looked back over her shoulder at him and smiled as Burley tried to get the class back on task.

Mixed in with the bell at the end of the period, Troy heard the familiar chimes of his morpher coming from his backpack. He nonchalantly shouldered it and the other four rangers maneuvered around their classmates until they were all together at the back of the line. Burley was talking with someone at the front, holding up the line.

"What is it, Tensou?" Troy whispered into the comm.

" _X-Borgs in the warehouse district_!" the little robot was chirping. As an afterthought, he added, " _Sorry to interrupt school_ …"

Troy shoved his morpher in his pocket. "No worries," he mumbled. "It's all part of a 'normal' day…"

* * *

There was a flash of multicolored light, and the five rangers appeared in the warehouse area, locked and loaded into a defensive stance.

Gia blinked. "Hold up."

Emma glanced around. "Uhm….are we sure we're in the right place?"

" _Those are the coordinates_ ," Gosei's voice confirmed over the comm.

"That's all well and good but…" Troy surveyed the piles of X-Borgs lying scattered all over the ground.

"They're clobbered," Jake said, looking around. If there was a fight, it appeared the Rangers had totally missed it. Broken machinery and the piles of defeated Armada foot soldiers confirmed _something_ had happened, but-

"What happened here? Who took these guys down?" Noah asked what they all were thinking.

Troy shook his head. "I don't get it."

" _Rangers_!" Tensou's panicked voice interrupted the confusion. " _Another attack, more X-Borgs downtown!"_

Troy shook his head. "We'll figure it out later. We better get downtown." They teleported again, landing about a block from the community college campus…to find the smoke clearing, students coming out of hiding…and the scattered bodies of more X-Borgs lying broken and twisted all over the yard.

"Okay, what the _hell_ is going on here?" Jake demanded, toeing one of the X-Borgs. It twitched, but didn't get up. Whoever had took them on had done a good job. He looked over at Troy, who was staring over the scene, his mind racing. "Hey…Troy?"

Troy jolted and looked back at him. "I….I got nothing," he said.

"What do we do?" Emma asked him, coming to stand next to him.

He stared some more. "Uh, I guess…we go back to school."

* * *

The five of them managed to slip back into the building just as the bell was ringing for lunch dismissal. They filed into the crowd of kids in the hall, blending in. Troy could barely pay attention in his classes the rest of the day, and was pretty sure he'd bombed a quiz in Government. After the last bell rang, the five of them piled into Gia's jeep and rode over to the mall. Gia had offered to help Troy study their material in Government, and everyone wanted to talk about the strange happenings of that morning.

"Who besides us has the ability to go toe to toe with a platoon of X-Borgs and come out on top? Jake was asking as they walked down the mall towards Ernie's. He brightened and looked at Troy. "Maybe it was your folks?"

Troy shook his head. "Nope, definitely not. Mom's at a conference in San Diego and Dad is on call. No way he's getting out of the fire house without someone noticing. Besides, I'm pretty sure that would have merited a text message."

"'Hey, son, we handled those X-Borgs, good luck in Government?'" Noah kidded, and Troy snorted.

"We have to find out who's behind this-ow!" Gia was interrupted as she was nearly knocked over by a quick-moving figure. Emma shot an arm out to steady her.

"Sorry," the person apologized. He had shaggy, dirty blonde hair, and was wearing work boots and gray pants. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good-" Gia broke off midsentence as she realized he hadn't stopped to care. He was halfway down the mall. "Thanks for asking," she muttered as she turned to Emma with a shrug.

* * *

When Troy got home from the mall, there was a familiar yellow Honda Accord parked outside the house. Troy grinned as he recognized his Aunt Kelsey's vehicle. He walked up the driveway and let himself in the house. "Aunt Kelsey? Uncle Ryan?"

"Kitchen!" he heard Kelsey yell back. He dropped his backpack in the entryway and wandered through to the kitchen. He could smell bacon before he even got into the room. Uncle Ryan was at the stove, turning pieces of bacon over carefully in a pan, and Kelsey was setting the table. Troy saw orange juice sitting out and a plate of pancakes. "Breakfast for dinner?" he asked with a smile. It was one of his uncle's specialties.

"Absolutely. Your dad called to say they wanted him to pull a double, so he asked if we'd come hang with you," Ryan told his nephew.

Troy raised an eyebrow. "You did remind them I'm 17 years old, right? I don't need a babysitter?"

"Well, in that case, Ryan, let's just take our bacon and leave," Kelsey spoke up from the fridge, where she was taking out the syrup and butter.

Troy snagged a piece of bacon off a plate and pointed it at her. "On second thought…" He grinned. "It's good to see you guys. How's Mariner Bay?"

"The same," Kelsey said. "Monster-free. How about here?"

"Save the work talk for the table," Ryan said. "Soup's on."

The three of them sat down for dinner and Troy relayed the day's events to them. "It felt weird. We weren't needed. It was kind of nice to…relax," he admitted. "This is probably the first Armada-free day we've had in a few weeks. They're stepping it up, there's platoons of X-Borgs dropping out of the sky all the time now." He frowned. "When did you guys get here?" he asked.

Ryan set down his juice. "If you're asking if it was us, it wasn't. We didn't get here until about two hours ago," he told Troy.

"Oh." Troy frowned. "I mean, I'm glad for the help, I guess, I just wish I knew who was responsible for taking them down," he said.

"It would be nice to know if they're on your side, or if they're just going off half-cocked," Kelsey said. She looked at Ryan. "Kind of like what's-his-name from Silver Hills. Your buddy with the beret."

"Eric?" Ryan grinned knowingly. "Half-cocked? Nooo, don't know what you're talking about."

"Eric Meyer?" Troy asked, and Ryan nodded. "He was a sixth ranger like you, right? We met his girlfriend Taylor."

"They're still dating, huh?" Kelsey said. "I guess I'm not surprised he hasn't popped the question yet. I think he's still more committed to the Silver Guardians than he is Taylor-course she doesn't exactly have a domesticated job either."

"Ouch," Ryan grimaced, and Troy laughed. He had just popped another bite of pancake into his mouth when his morpher chimed from the entryway. He got up, banging his knee on the table, and went to answer it. "We got another call!" he yelled back to the kitchen. "I gotta go!"

"We'll keep it warm for you!" Kelsey yelled back.

* * *

Troy surveyed the overturned tables and chairs from the waterfront boardwalk. Smoke and grease steamed from a couple of tipped carts, and there was broken glass from the streetlamps. "They're already gone," he said as he looked around. "I'm missing dinner for this?"

"I don't even know what to do anymore," Noah said, shaking his head.

"I know something we can do…we can help clean up," Emma said, and Gia nodded in agreement, making her way over to an overturned table and righting it. A young couple about their age was just climbing to their feet. "Are you guys okay?" Gia asked them, offering a hand to the girl.

"Could you tell us what happened here?" Emma asked them, situating the chairs back under the table.

The guy dusted his jeans off, stained with ketchup and dirt. "We thought we were goners," he began, shuddering. "But then _he_ showed up and-"

"Who did?" Troy interrupted, overhearing the conversation and jogging over.

The girl smiled, remembering something. "The silver ranger!" she said.

Troy's jaw dropped. " _What?"_


	43. Silver Lining, Part I

"Silver, huh?" Ryan Mitchell smiled thoughtfully. "Can't say I dislike this turn of events."

"Oh, you." Kelsey hit him in the shoulder. "This is serious," she said. "You guys didn't know _anything_ about it?" she asked Troy.

"No way," Troy said. He poked at his food. "Gosei didn't say anything about there being one more of us out there."

"This guy's not the greatest mentor," Ryan decided. "I'm not a fan."

"If there was a sixth ranger key out there, I wished he would've told us," Troy agreed. He pounded his fist into the table. "All this time we could've been getting help…" He thought of Robo Knight and felt a twinge in his stomach. He shook his head. "I'm going to go talk to Gosei. We need answers." He stood up from the table, but before he could teleport out, his morpher chimed and Tensou announced there was a monster downtown.

Troy sighed. "I'm on my way." He disappeared in a burst of red light, leaving Kelsey and Ryan alone-again.

"I don't miss that part," Kelsey admitted. She glanced at Troy's plate. "Bacon?" she asked, snagging a piece off his plate and holding it up.

When Troy landed downtown, the others were there too. And this time, the X-Borgs were still alive and kicking, along with a monster who was bright blue and orange. He had some kind of metal collar around his neck. It gave them an approximation of a grin. "We're gonna have a real blast!" it announced. "The Prince has had enough of you destroying his X-Borgs, so I've been sent to blow you away!"

Troy sighed. "Yeah, we can't even taken credit for that lately," he muttered under his breath as he dropped into a defensive stance. "Let's go get them Rangers!" he called out, and the team charged forward.

* * *

Standing off to the side of the plaza, a figure in a gray and black jacket watched them with interest. "I didn't know there were Rangers here," the person said.

"I'm not surprised," the woman next to him said. "Earth is a magnet for this sort of thing."

"You think we should help them out?"

The woman watched as the boy in red pounded an X-Borg into a planter. She turned to him and raised an eyebrow. He nodded. "I'd say they've got it handled, and I don't want to interfere." The woman slipped her arm through her companion's. "Let's get away from the action though."

* * *

Noah was the first to notice something strange. One X-Borg stood near the Armada general, holding something in it's arms. He knocked an X-Borg away and studied it. Wires, attached to some cylinders. _Looks a whole lot like…_ "Guys! They've got a bomb!"

"Oh, don't worry," the Armada general announced. "I won't set it off."

"Then what's the point?" Noah yelled at him.

"Yeah, why waste a perfectly good bomb?" Gia muttered sarcastically a few feet from Troy.

"It won't be a waste. It's already timed…to go off and take you with it!" The Armada general laughed maniacally.

Troy looked around. There were people crouched nearby. _If that thing goes off, it's not just taking us with it… "_ We've gotta get that trigger!" he called out, and Jake surged forward. To his surprise, the X-Borg zipped out of the way, quicker than Jake. One minute, it was standing still…the next, it was ten feet away.

Emma dove for him, but he disappeared again. "Are you _kidding_ me right now?" she groused. "Stay still!"

"What's wrong, don't you want to save your city?" the general taunted them. "Or is it that you just _can't_?"

Gia made a grab for it, but missed. "This is the worst game of hot potato ever!"

"We need a kick!" Troy yelled. "Let's go Legendary!" He yanked out his ranger key and slammed it home. "Kick into Overdrive! Overdrive, accelerate!" His pirate gear disappeared, replaced with a red and white suit with a black/red compass. "Overdrive Red Ranger!" With that pronunciation, he charged.

"Now you'll see what happens when we _really_ mean business!" Emma yelled, racing after him in the suit of the Pink Overdrive Ranger. She ducked down and kicked the X-Borgs' feet out from under him. His arms flew up, the bomb went flying…and Jake caught it with a somersault in the air.

"Touchdown!" he announced.

"Check the timer!" Troy yelled at him, throwing an X-Borg into a stairwell that led down to the subway. He heard it clang all the way down the steps.

Jake looked at it. 0:05 blinked back at him. "It's gonna blow!" he yelled. He dropped it from his hands, and, like a soccer ball, bicycle kicked it skyward. Then, he dove for the pavement, taking Gia with him.

The bomb exploded harmlessly over the tops of their heads. Debris rained down and the Overdrive suits disappeared.

"No! It was supposed to explode _with_ you, not _above_ you!" the general complained. He beat a hasty retreat, and the Rangers carefully climbed to their feet.

"That was a close one," Emma said, carefully stepping over a chunk of smoldering metal. "Everyone okay?" she asked, slipping her hand in Troy's. Troy nodded quietly. He was holding her hand tighter than usual, Emma noted, and she looked up at him. "What?" she asked him.

Before he could answer, their morphers chimed again. " _Rangers! There's more X-Borgs at the football stadium!"_ Tensou told them. " _Hurry!"_

"More X-Borgs?" Jake groaned.

"Where's the Silver Ranger when you need him?" Gia wondered as they disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

A few feet away, behind a cement bench, the two figures who'd been watching them fight popped their heads up. The woman turned to the man standing next to her, who had an odd look in his eye. "No," she said. "Don't even think about it!"

He grinned. "Oh come on." He tugged on her hand, and the two of them ran off to get directions to the stadium.

* * *

The stadium was quiet today as Troy and the others landed solidly on the 50 yard line and looked around. The bleachers were empty, but Troy heard something coming from the home end of the field. He looked down the turf. Coming out of the tunnel….

"X-Borgs. A lot of them," Noah groaned. He closed his fists. "I wish we'd perfected cloning," he said.

"Same here," Troy agreed. "Let's go get them, guys." His lack of enthusiasm was evident in his voice.

* * *

The man tailing the rangers yanked on a maintenance door. Locked. "Okay, we're not getting in," the woman said. "Let's go," she said, pulling at his arm.

He grinned and held up a hand. "When has a lock ever stopped me?" he asked her, and his hand shimmered.

* * *

Troy reached back to throw a punch, and something caught his fist. "Hey!" he yelled, whirling around to see a black visor and a silver-suited figure. "Where'd _you_ come from?" he demanded as the Silver Ranger flashed past him.

Emma stepped up to join Troy as they watched the Silver Ranger. He handled the X-Borgs easily, much better than they could in their fatigued state. "How is he even a Ranger at all?" Emma asked him.

Troy shook his head. "Gosei's not telling us everything, I don't think."

"He can sure handle himself in a fight…" Gia said, watching him. He had some kind of spear with a trident head and he was deflecting energy bolts back at the X-Borgs easily. "Still...who _is_ this guy?"

* * *

"They have a Silver Ranger?" the man asked as they stood on the sidelines, watching the fight. He grinned. "Awesome."

"I won't let you commit your atrocities on _this_ planet too! Spear Blaster!" The Silver Ranger ran forward, his spear emitting bursts of bright energy.

The man on the sidelines froze, and his partner squeezed his arm. "I'll make sure this world gets the chance mine never got!" the Silver Ranger was yelling from the field, and his spear extended as he charged forward again. Within moments, the silver-headed creatures were down for the count, and the Silver Ranger disappeared without another word.

"Somehow I don't think he's _with_ them," the woman deduced. She looked up at her partner. He was staring off into space. She looked around, following the battle. Then, she saw something in the stands. High up beyond the field, a solitary figure was watching the fight. She gently shook her partner's arm. "Hey," she said, and directed his attention up. "I think you and him should talk," she said.

"Why?" he asked her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Um, atrocities on a planet. Giving Earth the second chance _his_ planet never got?" She smiled. "I think you've got something in common."

* * *

Out on the field, Troy tried a new tactic, switching to Lost Galaxy Legendary Mode. Gia leapt forward in the wildcat suit of the Yellow Galaxy Ranger, swinging down her TransDagger, but to her surprise, the dagger hit something solid and she overshot, landing hard behind him. "There's some kind of force field!" she yelled back.

"That's right!" the general called out. "Can't defeat what you can't hit!"

"I'm tired of getting knocked around!" Jake yelled, seeing Gia on the ground, slow to get up. "Green Quasar Sabre!" He darted forward.

* * *

The demorphed Silver Ranger watched the fight from up in the bleachers, taking it all in. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and whipped around, fist thrown, but his hand was caught midair. Staring back at him was a man with intense blue eyes and blonde hair, his hand wrapped around his outstretched arm. Next to him was a pretty woman with brown hair, streaked blonde.

"We should talk," the man suggested, and the Silver Ranger frowned.

* * *

Jake 's sword clanged against the general's armor. He battled up against a bike rack and jumped into the air, vaulting over the general and lashing out with the sword, awkwardly catching him in the back of the neck. Jake dropped to the sidewalk.

Troy frowned as something blue shimmered from around the general. "The force field's down!" he gasped, realizing what it was.

The general gasped. "What? It may be, but I'm not!" With that, he struck out with both arms, energy flying. It enveloped the Rangers and knocked them to the ground. Then, he disappeared.

Troy scrambled to his feet but the general was long gone. He turned to Jake, who was just getting up. "How'd you do that?" he asked the Green Ranger.

Jake shook his head, pounding his fist into his hand. "I have no idea. Damn it," he sighed. "We were _so_ close!" The five of them disappeared off the field in a rainbow of light.

* * *

"What's your name?" the older man asked the Silver Ranger. He kicked the back of a seat before answering.

"Orion."

"Orion?" he repeated. He smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Tyzonn. Friends call me Ty. And this is my wife, Vella. We're from Mercuria."

The younger man's eyes widened at the name, and Ty knew he'd heard of it. "I think we have something in common," he said knowingly. "Where're you from?"

Orion hesitated before answering, staring straight ahead. "Andresia," he said after a moment.

Vella gasped, and Ty looked at him sideways. "Andresia?" he clarified, and Orion nodded mutely. "How is that possible?" he asked. He looked at Vella. "We were _there_ , we didn't see-"

Orion looked up sharply, and Ty held up a hand. "We're Intergalatic SAR," he explained. "We were held up at Sentai-4," he added. "We'd have gotten there sooner, but…" He closed his eyes. "You must be really good at hiding," he told Orion. "We scoured that planet looking for survivors, but we didn't see anyone."

"That's because I'm it," Orion informed him angrily. "The Armada wiped the Andresians out. I lost _everyone_!" He kicked the back of the chairs in front of him.

Ty's hand tightened in Vella's, and she squeezed it encouragingly. "W-what brings you to Earth?" he changed the subject.

"I followed the Armada in a warship I fixed," Orion said. "I'm a good mechanic. I followed them so I could destroy them before they could harm another planet…before they could destroy it like mine!" His eyes flashed. "What are you doing to say to that?" he demanded.

"That I understand where you're coming from," Ty told him finally, and Orion started. "I lost people close to me on Mercuria. I sent my rescue team into a mine, and it collapsed." Vella squeezed his hand and Ty closed his eyes as memories he'd thought he'd buried resurfaced.

Orion was silent. "I was the only survivor of my team," Tyzonn continued. "I took off after the aliens responsible, hoping one day I'd find them and get my revenge on them."

Orion kept staring straight ahead. "Did you?" he asked finally.

Tyzonn nodded. "I did. Here, on Earth. Joined up with the Overdrive Rangers and took them down. Turns out it was a lot easier with a team. And I didn't have to feel so alone anymore."

Vella smiled and leaned into Ty's shoulder. "From what I saw today, they could use you. You guys have the same mission-you're fighting on the same side."

Orion looked lost in thought, and Ty and Vella waited. Then, Orion said, "I'll think about it."

Ty shrugged. "Good as anything, I guess." He stretched his legs over the row of seats in front of him. "Vella, maybe we ought to get going."

Vella nodded. "Mack and the others are probably waiting." She smiled down at Orion. "You'd be a great asset to their fight. You've been following them this whole time…you probably know a lot about them. They could sure use a guy like you."

The two Mercurians stood up and stepped out into the stairs. "Why are _you_ on Earth?" Orion asked after a moment. The two of them looked at him, and he added, "I mean, you're Mercurian. Why aren't you home?"

Tyzonn grinned. "Came to see some old friends. I got to see a lot of the world as an Overdrive Ranger, but Vella…well, Vella was busy."

Vella hit him. "I was imprisoned in an ice cave!" she reminded him.

Ty nodded. "Anyway, we're just kind of seeing the sights on our way to San Angeles."

"Longest road trip ever," Vella added. "But worth it." She smiled. "If you get a chance after you defeat the Armada, I recommend exploring Earth. It's beautiful." With a wave and a nod, the two of them started walking down to the exit, leaving Orion alone in thought.


	44. Silver Lining, Part 2

"Exactly _when_ were you going to tell us there was a Silver Ranger?" Troy exploded, stepping up so close to Gosei that the tiki heads' eyes reflected off his own. "All this time, we've been forced to fight on our own, just the five of us, and there's been someone else out there, someone powerful, who could've fought with us?!"

The talking tiki head was silent, so Troy kept talking. The others were sitting on the floor of the command center, watching the exchange. With the city silent for the moment, the five of them were catching their breath. Except for Troy, who so far, appeared to be wasting his on his tirade at their so-called mentor.

"You didn't give us the Legendary Powers until Earth was damn near destroyed! Why?" Troy slammed his hand against the wall next to Gosei. Emma jumped.

Tensou rolled out from behind one of the glowing pillars and up to Noah, who patted the robot reassuringly. It wasn't him they were mad at.

"The collar," Jake said suddenly, in the break of silence. Troy whipped around and Jake flinched a little at the stormy look in his eyes.

"What?" he demanded. Jake swallowed, and continued. "The collar. I'm pretty sure that when I accidentally hit that guy's collar, that's what disabled the force field. I've been going over it in my head…and I think that's why he ran off."

"He ran off 'cause he had to fix it?" Noah offered, and Jake nodded.

"It makes sense," Gia said slowly.

Troy glared at Gosei, then looked at Jake. His expression softened. "Nice catch, Jake. Next time we face him, we'll expose the back of the collar…and then we'll have him." Under his breath at Gosei, he added. "No thanks to you."

"T-Troy?" Tensou's small voice broke the tension, and Troy looked down at him. The robot was hiding behind Noah's back. "I think he's b-back. At the stadium again."

Everyone held their breath, unsure if Troy's temper would extend to Gosei's right hand robot. Noah in particular was ready should Troy decide to go off on him. "Thank you, Tensou," Troy told him, and the robot blinked. "All right guys…let's go end this."

* * *

Ty and Vella stepped out of the Harwood Mall with two pints of Ernie's Fro-Yo in time to see a burst of multicolored light over the city. He counted the streaks. "Five," he said, sounding disappointed.

Vella smiled sympathetically. "It was a great pep talk, Tyzonn," she reminded him. "Someday, he'll have the push he needs."

There was a streak of silver, and Ty's eyes tracked it heading the same direction as the other light beams. He looked at Vella. Vella squeezed his hand.

* * *

Troy landed, letting his knees absorb the shock of the landing. He glanced left and right quickly, checking to make sure his team was with him. Then, he turned to face the Armada general…and his heart sank. "Do you see what I see?"

"Yeah," Noah grimaced. "He reinforced the back of the collar."

"New and improved!" the general called out to them, spreading his arms in a 'Look at me' gesture.

Troy shook his head. "Let's stick to our strategy. Let's hit that collar!" With that, he yanked out his morpher and his suit appeared in a flash of red. Then, as the other charged forward, Troy decided to try sneaking up from behind him. _Maybe they can distract him enough that I can-_

A giant hand grabbed him and tossed him backwards. "Tactical error, Red Ranger," the general informed him and tossed him into a support beam. Troy hit hard and dropped. He lifted his head with a groan and looked up to see Jake vaulting over, suited up again as the Green Galaxy Ranger, Quasar Sabre out and ready.

A long silver trident caught the sabre between its teeth and threw Jake sideways. Troy got to his knees and saw the Silver Ranger standing there, the trident in hand. Jake rolled and came up into a crouch. "The hell do you think you're doing?" Jake yelled at him.

"Trust me!" the Silver Ranger yelled back at him.

" _Trust_ you?" Gia shot back. "We don't even _know_ you!"

"Let me handle this!" the ranger pleaded. "I won't let this planet lose its' protectors too!"

Emma looked at Gia. "If he's not on our side…he's sure putting on a good show."

"Maybe he's too good to be true." Noah noted.

"Exactly!" Jake added.

Troy scrambled over to his team and watched as the Silver Ranger thrust a foot into the general's back, then spun his trident and hooked one of the points just under the collar. He pulled up _hard_. The general went flying into the air. "Get down!" the Silver Ranger yelled at them, and the Megaforce Rangers covered their heads as the general _exploded_ in midair.

Noah was the first to raise his head. "Whoa…" he breathed. "They turned the general into a suicide bomber."

"This is insane," Emma whispered. "That's extreme…even for the Armada."

"How did _he_ know that?" Jake demanded, pointing at the Silver Ranger. "This could be some crazy trick by Prince Vekar."

Troy stepped forward and took off his helmet. "Troy, what are you _doing_?" Gia hissed at him.

Troy looked back at her, then turned forward. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Why did you help us?"

The Silver Ranger paused. "Someone told me…that we were maybe fighting for the same thing." Then, he also lifted his hands to his helmet and tugged it off.

Gia's jaw dropped. " _You!"_ she gaped, recognizing his shaggy hair and blue eyes.

The Silver Ranger smiled and nodded.

"You've met him before?" Troy asked Gia incredulously.

"We _literally_ ran into each other at the mall," she explained. "So, no, not really _met_ , exactly."

"What's your name?" Emma asked him, holding Troy's hand. He could feel the nervousness coming off her and he slipped his hand around her waist.

"Orion," he said after a moment.

"Are you from around here?" Noah asked him.

Orion shook his head. "No. I-I'm from the planet Andresia."

Noah gasped, excited. " _Planet_? You're an _alien_?"

"A what?" Orion looked confused.

"You're from outer space," Noah clarified it down for him, and Orion nodded thoughtfully.

"By that definition…correct."

"What brought you to Earth?" Troy asked him, and Orion's face fell. He scuffed a toe of his boot into the sidewalk and glanced skyward before answering.

"My world…Andresia…was destroyed by the Armada." Orion looked at them. "I'm the only Andresian left."

Emma's jaw dropped. Troy heard audible gasps from Noah and Gia. "Oh God…" Emma trailed off. "What happened?"

Orion's uniform faded away as he remembered. "Andresia…was a lot like Earth. Lots of plants and animals. Precious metals, minerals. My family lived in a small village." He gave a small smile, remembering. " I worked as a miner in the quarry nearby. The day was almost over. I was looking forward to going out with my friends. But then…it happened." He closed his eyes. "The Armada came. As I looked out over the ridge…I saw explosions coming from the village. My family…I ran home as fast as I could…but when I arrived at the village…it was reduced to ruins. My family…friends…Everyone and everything was gone."

"We're so sorry for your loss," Emma burst out sympathetically. "I can't imagine what you've gone through."

"No," Orion agreed. "You can't. But the same thing will happen here if we don't stop the Armada."

Troy squeezed Emma's hand, then took a step toward Orion and put a hand out. "I think it's time we took you to our leader," Troy offered. _And maybe he'll finally explain some things._

Orion studied his hand for a minute. Then, he shook it, and Troy nodded.

Jake snickered. "'Take you to our leader,'" he grinned. Noah raised an eyebrow. Jake laughed. "What? It was funny!"

* * *

The newly-minted team of six piled into Gia's jeep and rode out to the command center. Once there, they went through the cave and spilled into the open chamber that served as their base of operations. Orion glanced at the Ranger figures lining the walls, the five brightly colored panels, and the giant…head…on the wall. "Wow," he whispered, taking it in. "Look at this place."

"Pretty cool, right?" Noah asked him, and Orion nodded in agreement.

"Oh wow!" Tensou's high-pitched squeal broke into the quietness, and Orion jumped back in surprise as the little robot rolled toward him, eyes blinking. "You found the Silver Ranger key!" he chirped happily.

Orion frowned, and looked at Troy. "Is he-"

"A robot," Troy confirmed with a smile. "He's a little annoying, but you learn to get used to him."

"Hey!" Tensou buzzed indignantly, and Noah grinned and tapped Tensou on the head. "He's kidding," Noah assured him, and Tensou hummed.

"Gosei?" Troy turned his attention to the head on the wall. Orion cocked his head and studied it. "You maybe want to explain to us _now_ how there's been a sixth ranger out there this whole time you didn't bother to tell us about?" Orion could definitely hear anger and frustration in the Red Rangers' voice but he didn't understand why.

Gosei was silent, and for a moment, Troy bristled. _If he doesn't answer…._

Finally, Gosei spoke. "Orion. It is a pleasure to welcome you to Earth."

Orion frowned. "Um…thank you?" He glanced at Gia as if to say _I'm talking to the wall_. Gia shrugged one shoulder with a smile. She remembered the feeling all too well.

"As to your question, Troy. A sixth ranger key was forged along with your own," he began to explain. His eyes glowed green. "You can see there is teams with one or more extra rangers along the walls."

"Yeah, I'm aware," Troy informed him. "My uncle's one of them."

"His uncle?" Orion whispered to Jake.

Jake smirked. "And his parents, and his aunt, and…..you know what? Long story."

"The keys became separated long ago. It was an agreement that kept the sixth key from the other five, in case…"

"What?" Gia asked. "In case we all were destroyed or something?"

Gosei was quiet and Gia's jaw dropped. "That's it, isn't it?" she said, looking around at everyone. "They hid it in case something happened to us on Earth…there'd be another ranger key out there, another ranger, to continue on."

"The key was hidden on Andresia. A peaceful planet. No one would think to look for it there. In fact, it would have stayed hidden forever-"

"If the Armada hadn't come along," Orion said bitterly.

"Correct." Gosei's attention turned to Orion. "The key was not destroyed with your planet. How did you find it?"

Orion wandered over to the wall, running his hand over the ranger figures before answering. "A little over a week before the invasion, I was at the quarry. I was assigned to break apart the chunks of rock to get at the ore inside. We have… _had…_ this beautiful silver gem on Andresia, but it takes a lot of work to get to it. That's what I was doing." He closed his eyes, remembering. "My axe hit something…it was so hard it broke it. I discovered a crystal container. Inside was this thing." He held up the silver device that contained the lock for his key. "The-key, you said?-was in it too." He pulled them from his pocket, studying them. " I kept my discovery secret but didn't know what to do with them. When I held them together, there was this…energy. That's when I had a vision of…I guess it must have been Rangers." He shrugged. "Some of these figures look familiar. That one," he said, pointing to the model of the Quantum Ranger, "and this one," he added, pointing to a white helmet with a strange starburst for a visor. "I knew it meant something...but of course, I didn't know what." He stuffed the morpher back in his pocket. "The day the Armada attacked…it was insanity. There was smoke and fire…explosions. People screaming…I took out the key and the morpher. I didn't know what would happen, but I had nothing to lose. I put the key in the slot. Power surged through me. Next thing I knew," Orion grinned, "I had the helmet on and the suit….it was so weird. But it felt amazing." His smile faded as he continued, leaning up against the wall. "It was too late for my world. I discovered the Power too late. And I vowed I'd go after the Armada and make them pay for what they did. One of the few Armada ships left to guard the planet gave me my exit. It was disabled and it crashed. I fixed it up…it took months. But then….I took the ship, and I went after them. They had a big head start, but I finally caught up with them here, on Earth."

"You don't have to go this alone anymore," Noah told him. Troy nodded at Noah. _Ever the loyal friend._

"He's right," Troy added, coming up and clapping Orion on the back. "We're a _team_ ," he stressed, and his eyes flickered up toward Gosei. "We've been tired and down and out for a long time. You showing up…it's like we've got new lease on this fight. If you can access the sixth ranger keys, that's a whole new spread of an arsenal we can take advantage of." He smiled. "The Armada won't know what hit them."

Orion nodded. "I'm in," he promised.

Emma and Gia were whispering to each other. They both looked up at Orion and grinned.

"Uh oh," Jake muttered.

Noah looked at his friend. "What?"

But Troy had seen it too. "Uh oh," he agreed.

Gia and Emma threaded their arms through Orion's. "Welcome to the team," Emma said with a smile. "Your first lesson is going to be….Earth Camouflage."

Orion raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Troy buried his face in his hands. "Shopping," he told Orion. "They're taking you shopping."


	45. Welcome to Earth

Troy was insistent that they go along and add some testosterone to the proceedings. Add to the fact that they'd been fighting the Armada until the wee morning hours, he'd missed dinner and breakfast. The five of them were going to skip school. Nobody would be able to stay awake in class anyway, and everyone was too fascinated by Orion and his story to think of much else. He'd shot his aunt and uncle a quick text, and Kelsey promised to let his father know he'd be back later and that he was fine.

The kids hit up a Cinnabon for breakfast and introduced Orion to the amazingness that was a cinnamon roll and coffee. Jake snored quietly in the corner as the others ate their breakfast and gave Orion some fast tips about blending in. He was actually doing pretty well for himself. The day Gia had run into him in the mall, he'd been applying at Ernie's Brain Freeze and Ernie had hired him. But he welcomed any assistance they could give him, as certain things were still very strange to him.

When the mall finally opened at ten, the girls left Troy, Jake and Noah on a bench and practically dragged Orion into the mall. "That poor guy," Noah lamented, shaking his head.

Troy laughed. "Well, it's hard enough to say no to Gia and Emma on their own. But together…he doesn't stand a chance!"

"It's weird," Jake said, and Troy thought he detected a twinge of jealousy. "What do girls know about guys clothes anyway?" He rose to his feet. "Maybe I should go-"

Noah and Troy put a hand on his shoulders and pushed him back down to the bench. Troy was asleep in seconds, head resting against the back of the bench.

* * *

Almost two hours later, the girls paraded Orion outside the final store, a shopping bag each in the hands, and showed off the Silver Ranger's new look. Noah shook Troy awake. Their bleary-eyed leader blinked a few times, then, as Orion came into focus, Troy gave him a thumbs up. Orion wore a pair of black jeans and a gray t-shirt under a slick silver jacket. They'd hooked him up with a pair of black combat boots, a black messenger bag and a gray wallet. To celebrate, they all went to Ernie's, but the celebration was cut short when Ernie came out, realized his new worker was not only late for his first shift, but sitting out front with customers, and hauled him to the back to don an apron and get back to work.

He said nothing about the Rangers being in his shop this early on a school day, which was probably a good thing.

* * *

It was a few days later when Troy started to realize something. Orion worked at the mall, but didn't go to school with them. Yet when Gosei called them, alerting them to monster activity, Orion was always right there with them.

He was walking Emma to school one morning and brought it up to her. "I wonder where he's living?" he said. "I know it's not at the command center because Tensou told me he never sees Orion unless he's with us."

"Maybe he's staying in the ship he came here in?" Emma guessed. "It would be close enough to the city that he could get to us in a hurry but if he was living there….I mean I guess I can see why he doesn't invite us all over or something."

"It's weird. I hate that he's on his own," Troy said. He held the door open to the school for Emma. "Explain to me why we had to get here so early?"

Emma laughed and tapped her camera. "So I can get these negatives developed before it gets overrun by the freshman art class."

Troy laughed. "Got it. Well, I guess I'll go hang out in the cafeteria until the bell. See you in Bio?"

She reached up on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. "See you in Bio," she agreed, and disappeared into the photography lab.

Troy pushed open the door to the men's bathroom, his mind going over possible ideas for a place for Orion.

"Hi Troy," a voice said, and he jumped in surprise, instantly lowering himself into a defensive stance. He looked up. Orion was standing by the mirror, brushing his teeth.

Troy blinked. "Uh. Hi, Orion."

"What time is it?" Orion asked him, putting the cap back on his toothpaste.

It then dawned on Troy as Orion disappeared into the stall at the end of the row. That particular stall had been out of order since Orion had appeared in town. And when Orion ducked into and came out of the stall with his silver jacket in hand, it was confirmed in Troy's mind. "Orion….have you been _sleeping_ here?"

"Yeah," Orion shrugged. "I tried the command center, but it doesn't have hot water so…this was easier."

"The janitor haven't caught you?"

Orion shook his head. "Nah. He comes in here, I hide in the science lab. Or the locker rooms. Or the cafeteria."

"You eat the cafeteria food three times a day?" Troy frowned. "Yuck."

"It's not bad," Orion defended it. "Pizza's okay. Honestly, anything's better than the stuff I was scrounging on Andresia or the freeze dried stuff while I was in space."

Troy shook his head. "Seriously dude. You could've come home with me, or Jake, or Noah."

Orion shrugged. "I'm just used to being alone, that's all."

Troy ran a hand through his hair. "Uh huh. Well, you're on my planet now, and you've got us. You're not alone." He clapped his friend on the back. "Meet me at Ernie's after school," he told him.

* * *

When Orion walked up to Troy in the booth at Ernie's Fro-Yo, Troy flashed him the 'one minute' sign and pointed to the phone he had stuck against his ear. "Thanks, Dad. See you tonight." He hung up. "Doing anything tonight?" he asked.

"Nope, why?"

"Well," Troy began. "That was my dad on the phone. I wanted to ask you something, but I needed his and my mom's permission first."

"What's up?" Orion sounded confused.

"Look, it's gotta suck living at the school so…I was wondering if you wanted to come stay at my place. We've got an extra room in the basement my dad finished. You'd have to share a bathroom with the rest of us, but…" He shrugged. "I just don't wanna leave a friend hanging." He looked at him. "And you shouldn't have to be alone.

Orion broke into a grin. "Sure!" he said.

* * *

At the last bell, Troy and Orion caught the bus back to Troy's house. Carter and Dana were both home, miraculously. Also, miraculously, cars in the driveway belonged to Ryan and Kelsey Mitchell, Grandpa Bill, and who appeared to be Joel Rawlings and Chad Lee. "Oh." Troy grimaced. "I guess you get to meet the whole family tonight," he apologized. "Sorry about that." He strongly suspected a lot of it had to do with the conversation with his father that afternoon. _Everyone wants to meet the alien._ "Anyway, come on," Troy told him. "They're not gonna bite."

"Jake said….your parents were both Rangers?" Orion asked, scuffing the driveway with his toe.

Troy nodded. "It's um…it kind of runs in the family." He came back down the steps. "Not only my parents, but most of their friends, too. Look, man, don't be nervous. My parents are surprisingly cool. They've got friends that live in another galaxy." He laughed. "You won't be an oddity to them at all."

Orion hesitated. Then, he nodded. "Okay." Troy hopped up the steps and knocked on the door. Orion stood behind him and waited. Pretty soon, a tall man with blonde hair and Troy's gray eyes opened the inside door. "Hey, kiddo." He smiled. "Who's your friend?"

"Dad, this is Orion." Troy stepped aside and Orion gave his father a small wave, fingers still wrapped around his messenger bag strap. "Orion, this is my dad, Carter Grayson."

"Nice to meet you," Orion managed to cough out. "You used to be a Power Ranger too?"

Carter nodded. "Long before Troy was even a thought," he teased. "Lightspeed Rescue." He stepped back and held the door open. "Come on in. We're starting supper a little early tonight. Do you like spaghetti?"

Orion frowned. "I don't know if I know what that is," he confessed.

Carter grinned. "It's messy, but delicious." Troy ducked under his arm and Orion followed. Troy showed him where to hang up his bag and put his shoes, and then Orion followed him into the kitchen, where Dana was busily stirring together meat sauce for the spaghetti. Sitting at the kitchen table were Chad, Joel, Ryan and Kelsey and Captain Bill Mitchell.

"Pay up," Chad whispered to Joel. When Troy looked at his honorary uncles, Chad held his hands up and pointed to Joel. "Ask him!"

Joel's face turned red. "I don't want to know," Troy decided. He looked at Orion who was hanging back in the hall. He grabbed his arm. "Everybody, this is Orion." He pointed around the room. "Orion, this is my mom, Dana, my Uncle Ryan and Aunt Kelsey, Joel, Chad, and my Grandpa Bill."

Bill smiled easily. "Don't worry, there won't be a test later," he promised. Orion looked relieved.

Troy looked around. "What is everybody doing here?" he had to ask. "I mean, I know Mom's spaghetti is awesome, but maybe not awesome enough for a three-hour drive."

"Hey now!" Dana protested from the stovetop. There was gentle laughter from around the kitchen. "Troy, until this is finished, why don't you show Orion the guest bedroom," she suggested. "Or," she added thoughtfully, "I guess that would be _your_ bedroom now," she told Orion with a smile.

"Thank you," Orion said after he found his voice. "I…you don't know what it means to me."

"You'd be surprised," Ryan Mitchell spoke up quietly from the table. Kelsey squeezed his arm and laid her head on his shoulder.

Troy grabbed Orion's jacket. "Come on, let's go. I'll give you the tour."

* * *

After Orion had been settled in the guest room, the two teens met the adults in the kitchen for supper. The group asked Orion plenty of questions about his life on Andresia and tried not to laugh too much at Orion's newfound love of marinara and noodles. By his third plate, Carter had leaned over to Troy and whispered, "We finally found someone who can out-eat Joel!"

Orion had plenty of questions for the family, too, about Earth and their lives and being a Ranger. By the time everyone started packing up to go home, Troy felt like he had a brother that he'd known for years. As the evening wound down, it was just the Graysons and Ryan and Kelsey who were left in the living room.

"So let me get this straight," Ryan said, for the umpteenth time, "you can morph into me?" He grinned, looking at his sister as Orion nodded. "See, Dana?" he added. "They _were_ thinking of us badass extra rangers when they made the keys."

"You're just happy someone figured out how to count to six," Dana muttered under her breath, and Kelsey, who caught it, snorted with laughter.

"We're happy to have you here," Carter told Orion. "Not only in our home, but to help out with the Armada. I know Troy and the others are going to really appreciate having you around."

"It's nice to feel like I have somewhere I belong," Orion responded, wringing his hands together. "I ran into this other sixth ranger….his name was Ty. He told me that you guys-" here he pointed to Troy- "and I had a common goal. I want the Armada gone. For good. Not just away from Earth, but destroyed. What they did to Andresia…what they're trying to do to you…" He pounded a hand on his knee. Troy pushed him with his foot, and Orion smiled. "Well, it isn't gonna happen here," he said firmly, and Troy nodded.

"Welcome to the family, man," Troy told him.

Ryan frowned. "Who's Ty?" he wondered. He looked at Carter. "You guys have your little red ranger club…we seriously need one for sixth rangers."


	46. Mayday

"You're so lucky," Troy told Orion one night as he sat cross-legged in the living room, bent over his homework. "You don't have to do this."

Orion was sprawled on the couch. "I wouldn't mind it, actually. I like learning." He grinned. "That's what made wandering around Harwood chasing after Tensou so much fun the other day."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Glad you enjoyed running around in the rain," he told him. "Good grief, that was insane."

Orion laughed. "What are you working on, anyway?" he asked, peering over Troy's shoulder.

"Um, it's a paper on different cultures," Troy explained. "We can pick any culture we want." He frowned. "Except I feel like everything's been taken."

Orion shrugged. "I'd tell you all about Andresia, but nobody's likely to have heard of it here," he said. Then, an idea occurred to him. "Why don't you do it on your parents' friends?"

Troy craned his neck so that he was looking up at Orion. "The ones that live in the other galaxy," Orion explained. He was thinking. "What was the name of the planet, again?"

"Mirinoi," Troy said. He tapped his pencil on the paper thoughtfully. "Oh, dude. That's actually a really good idea!" Then, his face fell, and he let his pencil fall. "I don't have the slightest clue how to do that, though. I'd probably have to get someone to patch me through from NASADA, and I bet that's a _hell_ of a phone call."

Orion sighed. "Well, so much for that," he said.

"Hey, it was a great idea," Troy assured him. "Just a spendy one."

"Speaking of spendy things," Orion began, "what are you getting Noah for his birthday?"

Troy smacked his head. "I completely forgot about it," he admitted. "It's when, again?"

"Friday," Orion told him. "You were gonna ask your Dad if it was OK to road trip upstate to go to that dinosaur museum."

"Yeah," Troy remembered. He shook his head. "I dunno. I'm not sure it's a good idea to leave the city right now," he admitted. "I mean, the Armada isn't letting up, and they just turned a guy into a suicide bomber." He bit his lip. "I'm scared to think of what they'll come up with next," he confessed.

"Yeah," Orion countered, "but if we don't do normal things, we're letting them win anyway."

Troy set his homework down. "You've got a point," he agreed. "And I feel bad, I feel like Noah's getting the shaft lately. You know, with Jake and Gia dating and me and Emma…"

Orion grinned. "Yeah, Noah is kind of a fifth wheel. Same with me. But we put up with you."

"Still, I don't want to _not_ celebrate his birthday," Troy said. "Let's hope that the Armada holds off for a little longer."

* * *

_Somewhere above Corinth_

Dunes of sand blew by underneath him, but Lieutenant Scott Truman barely paid them any attention. The was his fourth recon mission this week and he was pretty sure he had them memorized.

"This is really-"

"Boring," the twin voices of Gem and Gemma came over his speakers and Scott tried not to laugh. He empathized with the twins. Eagle Squadron, once an elite fighter unit, was now relegated to flying patrols over a regrowing desert just to keep the aircraft maintained. There was no other reason to be in the air anymore, not since Venjix had been destroyed.

"I know, guys," Scott cut into their chatter. "Maybe next week we'll set up some targets to shoot at just for fun," he offered. "Make sure the guns on these things still work."

Gemma cheered and Scott grinned. _Any excuse for something to go boom_ , he thought. He rolled his plane sideways and caught Gem and Gemma following suit. He banked it into a tight turn and spun it into an aileron roll, watching the twins following his maneuvers.

It felt nice to cut loose.

* * *

_Corinth Academy for the Gifted_

The figure slipped down the hallway, checking periodically up at the security cameras to make sure they were out of range. One camera followed, but the person blinked, studying the camera, focusing on the circuits…

The camera fizzled and shorted out. Satisfied, they pressed a hand to the door panel of the AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY door in front of them and waited.

 _Bioscan confirmed_.

The door slid back. The room was awash in bright colors, but the person bypassed the colored tubes on the wall heading straight for something in the middle of the room. A long case. It didn't take much to pop the case open-after all, they hadn't even expected someone to get into the room. The case snapped open. A blinking red light greeted them, echoing from the device in the center of the case. They eased it out and pulled back part of their palm, revealing an interface. Placing the RPM Yellow Morpher in their palm, they closed their eyes, allowing the information inside to download. Then, alarms started to sound. They tossed the morpher back at the case, knocking it to the floor, and then took off out the door.

No one noticed when one security guard straggled behind the others. "I was making sure everyone got out safely!" When the charade was over, they disappeared in the commotion.

* * *

A sensor started to beep in Scott's jet and he frowned. They were just passing over the city. "Has to be a malfunction," he muttered, bringing up the reading. "That's impossible!"

"What the heck-"

"Is that?" Gem and Gemma saw similar readings on their displays.

"Trouble," Scott said grimly, keying the radio for to contact his father. "Da-Colonel Truman? We've got a situation-"

The line went static-y, then cut out. At the same time, Scott saw all his instruments go black.

"We're going to-"

"Crash!"

Scott's hands kept a white-knuckle grip on the stick. "Focus, you two!" he yelled. "Fly VFR!" Images flashed unbidden into his mind of a time, a few years ago, when he'd been in a similar situation with Marcus...He blinked. _It's not going to end that way-not again!_

A signal was blasted out into the atmosphere. _If anyone is out there….assistance is needed in Corinth!_

* * *

The signal bounced around the universe, lighting up a sensor on the Armada's lead ship. The figure sitting in the partial darkness of the bridge clasped his hands together. "Send it to Earth," he instructed.

"What?" Damaras, a trusted lieutenant of the Armada, turned to face his boss. "Sir, if the Rangers intercept the message-"

"They'll be the good little heroes of Earth and go investigate. Corinth is in a parallel dimension," his superior informed him. "If they go there…there will be no one on Earth to stop us." He nodded quietly. "And if we're lucky, whatever is there will destroy them, saving us the trouble."

* * *

Noah Carver sat on the ground at the Command Center, poking away at his laptop. "Working late?" Tensou asked him, rolling up next to him.

Noah smiled. "Just doing some research," he said. "Trying to see if there's any Legendary modes we can tap that might give us an advantage." He shrugged. "I don't have much going on right now anyway," he admitted.

"Do you want some help?" Tensou chirped. "I could call the others?"

Noah shook his head. "Jake and Gia are out tonight, Emma is working and Troy's got homework." He rested his head against the wall of the command center. "Looks like it's just you and me, buddy," he told Tensou.

Tensou blinked at him. Then, tones sounded throughout the room and Noah's head shot up. "What's that?" he asked Gosei, who blinked to life above him.

"A distress signal from….Corinth," the talking tiki head said, sounding confused, or as confused as he could sound, anyway.

"Corinth?" Noah blinked. "I know that name," he said. He pointed at his computer. "That's the home of the RPM Rangers. But," he frowned, "they're in a different dimension. How did the signal get here?"

"I believe it would be worth investigating," Gosei said. "The SkyShip could reach Corinth with the six of you."

"Oh, I know she's capable," Noah agreed. "In fact, the calculations to do it are fairly simple. But Gosei, if we go…" Noah glanced around the room. "What if the Armada tries to take over while we're gone?" He shook his head. "There's no active Rangers if we go."

"How familiar are you with the Battle of Corinth?" Gosei asked him, changing the subject.

Noah pushed his glasses farther up his nose. "The RPM Rangers stopped a computer virus named Venjix. It was self-replicating, creating soldiers, taking over networks…"

"If Venjix has somehow managed to resurface, if a distress signal can get through to Earth…"

And Noah understood. "Venjix could too." _No computers, no military, no electronics…_ "Call the others," he told Gosei. "We'll go." _Earth should be fine until we get back…right?_

* * *

"You're going _where_?" Dana Mitchell exploded. Troy was leaning up against the kitchen table and Orion was standing against the wall.

"Corinth," Troy explained patiently. "To go stop a rampaging computer virus." It sounded weird to say it out loud, but he trusted Noah. If he said it was bad, it was bad, and they needed to go.

"I hate to state the obvious," Carter noted, "but if you guys go to another dimension…I mean, it's not like wormholes appear all the time so the Galaxy Rangers can get here from Mirinoi, so I imagine interdimensional…whatevers, they aren't like hailing a taxi."

"You're right," Orion agreed. "Especially in this town," he added, and Carter snorted. "But Noah says the SkyShip is built for this kind of travel, so it shouldn't be an issue."

"The bigger issue is the giant fleet of spaceships chilling out in Earth's orbit," Dana pointed out. "You guys leave, and what happens then?"

Troy and Orion exchanged looks. "You guys got this," Troy said. He smiled. "We trust you." With that, the two boys gave the Graysons a hug and disappeared out the front door, where they disappeared in pillars of red and silver light.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Dana said, looking around the empty kitchen, "but did our teenage son just leave the fate of Earth to us?"

Carter nodded. "Yeah, he kinda did." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to go call your brother. I think we might need some backup."

* * *

The six Megaforce Rangers stared into the open sky ahead of them. "Another dimension," Jake said. He looked at Noah. "Are you sure-"

"I got this," Noah cut in. He typed a few more commands into his computer. "Time to go inside," he said, and ducked past his friend into the cockpit.

Jake glanced over at Troy. "What was that?" he asked.

"That was the fifth wheel telling you to trust him," Orion cut in, following Noah inside, his helmet under his arm.

"I've never seen Noah so focused," Emma whispered to Gia.

"That's 'cause he finally has something to do," Orion poked his head out from the door. "Hurry up you guys, and get in here."

"Troy?" Emma turned to her boyfriend questioningly.

"Later," Troy replied with a reassuring smile. "Come on, guys. Let's go to Corinth."

It was dark….and then suddenly, it was light. _Bright_ light. Troy shielded his eyes as the SkyShip slowed to a stop….somewhere. "Noah, is this it?" he asked his Blue Ranger.

Noah nodded. "Welcome to Corinth," he said.

The moment he said it, the entire SkyShip shuddered as something slammed into it and rocked it, throwing Troy off the wheel. The ship groaned, and then, it was falling. As the girls screamed, Troy thought he caught a glimpse of a silver jet spinning to the ground beside them as he fought to grab hold of the wheel again. Then, the SkyShip hit the ground and Troy's head slammed on the ship's wheel, and the brightness of Corinth faded to black.


	47. Birthday Blues

Troy opened his eyes and was met by blue sky. Bright blue. He blinked. The world wasn't tinted or shaded….whatever had happened, it had knocked him out of morph. Then he remembered. They'd hit something. _Or something hit us_ , he thought, painfully propping himself up on his elbows. He looked around the SkyShip cockpit. There was a gaping hole through the cracked window of the bridge and smoke drifting from somewhere else in the mechanics.

 _We've just crash landed in a different dimension…and I don't know if we're going to be able to get back._ "Troy?" He turned at the sound of his name and saw Noah, glasses askew on his face, slowly coming to in the corner.

"Yeah, Noah. You okay?"

Noah shook his head as he looked around. His hand found his laptop and he held it up. The front screen was cracked and the cover was hanging by one hinge. "I think we're in trouble," he grimaced.

"We're in _what_?" That came from Emma who pushed herself onto her knees and swayed a little, steadying herself against the wall. "Are you guys okay?"

"As well as we can be," Troy replied. "We might have a slight problem lifting off again," he noted grimly.

"Anybody get the name of the truck that hit us?" Gia asked as she rolled onto her side.

"It wasn't a truck. It was a jet. But it wasn't any jet I've ever seen before," Troy replied. Gia looked at him questioningly, and Troy elaborated, "My honorary uncle flies in air shows, remember?"

"I'm lucky I can remember my name," Jake groaned as he pulled himself to a sitting position against Orion, who leaned against him for support. "Everybody okay?" he asked, looking directly at Gia. She nodded, and winced.

"Welcome to Corinth," Noah said sarcastically. "Enjoy your stay….it looks like we're gonna be here awhile."

* * *

The six Megaforce Rangers extricated themselves from the wreckage. While Noah and Orion surveyed the damage, Troy was looking up over a small rise in the sand where smoke drifted lazily into the blue sky. "I think the jet crashed over there," he noted, pointing.

"We should go check on the pilot," Emma suggested.

"What if they hit us on purpose?" Jake countered.

Gia tapped her morpher. "I think we're good," she said. "Come on." The four of them climbed over the ridge-slowly-and studied the downed plane. The canopy was ripped away from it, lying several feet away. Smoke drifted from the twin engines in the back. One wing's paneling was sheared away, and the other wing was bent at a severe angle from landing in the dunes. Troy could just make out the head and shoulders of someone in a flight suit and helmet in the wreckage, and he started picking his way over to the plane. The landscape seriously creeped him out. The sand dunes were huge; they reminded him of the dunes they went boarding on. But sprinkled in and around them were some weird flowers he'd never seen before, and every now and then there'd be a huge field of them, and then patches of nothing but sand again.

The jet lay sideways against a larger dune, and Troy could see the pilot better. The guy couldn't have been much older than him, with hair done back in neat cornrows. Troy reached into the cockpit.

"Careful," a voice warned, and Troy jerked, looking over to see Noah. Troy nodded and reached for the release on the harness again. His finger closed around the belt.

A hand shot out and grabbed his, and Troy yelped. He heard Noah swear behind him. "Hey, hey!" Troy yelled at the pilot, who had a firm lock on his wrist. "We're here to help you. You crashed."

"I-what?" The pilot shook his head a couple of times to clear the cobwebs, then turned to focus on Troy. "I didn't crash. I hit something." He blinked. "Who in the hell are you?"

"I'm Troy," Troy began, "and this is Noah."

"And you're Scott Truman," Noah spoke up. Troy and the pilot both turned to Noah in surprise. "I recognize him from the archives," Noah defended himself. "Troy, that's Scott Truman, the Red RPM Power Ranger."

Scott Truman pushed Troy's hand away and undid his safety harness, tumbling not-so-gracefully out of the cockpit and onto the ground. "How do you know who I am? Who the _hell_ are you guys?" he demanded.

"I'm Troy Burrows," Troy told him. "This is Noah. We're Rangers too."

Scott shook his head, frowning. "No, you're not. There's no Rangers in Corinth."

"We're not from Corinth," Noah explained. "We're actually not even from this dimension."

Scott squinted at them. "You're…. _excuse_ me?"

Noah crossed his arms. "This shouldn't be that hard to believe," he informed him. "You came to our dimension to help the Samurai Rangers. Jayden Shiba. Name ring a bell?"

Scott was quiet for a moment, processing. Troy heard shoes on the sand and glanced back, seeing his team joining them.

"How…." Scott blinked. "How did you get _here_?" he asked.

"Distress call," Noah said. "We intercepted it."

Scott thought about that for a moment. Then he scrambled to his feet. "We need to get back to Corinth," he said. "Did you…am I…." He looked around. "I wasn't the only bird in the air," he told them. "My squadron partners….did you guys see another jet somewhere?"

"That's what we were coming to tell you," Emma said quietly. "There's two more jets over there." she pointed back and to the left. "They're both pretty banged up."

"Show me," Scott demanded, and Emma led the way as they picked their way through the sand dunes, coming back over the rise. Scott shielded his eyes and saw the smoke billowing up from the wrecks. He swore and took off so fast toward the downed jets that the Megaforce team had to scramble to keep up. To their surprise, two figures were stumbling away from the wrecks, both wearing matching flight suits to Scott and holding their helmets under their arms. "Gem! Gemma!" Scott called out, and the two figures looked up.

"RPM Gold and Silver," Noah murmured to Troy.

Gem spoke first. "That really-"

"Sucked," Gemma finished, coughing out the words. She brightened. "You're okay!" she enthused, wrapping Scott in a hug. Scott returned it.

"Who're your friends?" Gem wanted to know.

"I dunno if we're _friends_ just yet," Scott told his friend, "but in any case, they're here to help."

"The distress signal," Gem remembered. "We should-"

"Get back to Corinth," Gemma agreed.

Jake shared a look with Gia. "That's kind of creepy," he whispered to her.

"We need a way to get back," Scott said, thinking out loud. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "I hope this thing gets through," he said.

* * *

The nine young people took shelter in the shade from the wings of the downed aircraft. Troy had deferred to Noah and let Noah work out the logistics of dimension traveling with Scott, Gem and Gemma. "So this Venjix virus…it's sentient?" Noah was getting clarification from Scott.

"Hello, Skynet," Gia whispered to Jake.

Scott nodded. The action made him wince. "We thought we'd destroyed it, though. There was nothing…I mean, it's been _years_ ….there's been no sign of it…"

"So somehow it woke itself up?" Noah was thinking out loud. "Some kind of time delay, maybe."

"What happens now that it's out?" Orion wondered.

"It could start replicating again," Scott told them.

"Bad news," Gem said quietly, his sister nodding in agreement.

Jake dug his toe into the sand. "You know how my dad used to say technology would take over the world someday?" he asked Noah. "This is freaky."

"And if the signal could jump out of this dimension," Noah added, "who's to say that Venjix couldn't jump into _our_ world?"

"Killer computer virus plus alien armada?" Emma shivered, despite the heat. "Earth wouldn't stand a chance."

"We're not going to let it get to that," Scott said. He squinted out into the dunes, and stood up, shakily. Troy grabbed his arm to steady him. "Our ride's here," Scott told them, pointing.

"Where?" Orion asked. "I don't see-"

"Out there," Gemma replied happily.

At first, Troy saw nothing, wondering if the two pilots were merely seeing heat mirages. But then, the cloud of dust in the distance was getting thicker, and a little closer. A moment later, a blue truck came lumbering over the sand. The back had a tow hook and it reeked of diesel. The driver, a man about Scott's age with brown hair and blue eyes, poked his head out of the window with a wave. "Aye, someone called for a ride?"

"Flynn!" Gemma called happily. She ran up to the truck and gave him an awkward hug.

"Everyone, this is Flynn McAllister," Scott introduced them.

Flynn glanced around at the group. Emma offered him an awkward wave. "And who the hell might you be?" he asked the teens, with a confused look at Scott.

"Dimension hopping friends," Scott explained. "Speaking of, how are ours back in the city?"

"Not good," Flynn said. "I had to get a bit of help to get out of the city. Dr. K managed to get an opening in the power grid long enough for me to get out."

"Impressive," Scott noted. "I mean, your truck isn't exactly the Renegade."

"What's a renegade?" Orion wondered.

"It's a car," Gem told him.

"A big black car," Gemma added.

"It belongs to our Black Ranger, Dillon," Scott explained. "And even though it's a piece of junk, it's still not as bad as this thing."

"I should be insulted, the way you talk about my truck," Flynn shot back as the others piled into the cab and the box of the truck.

"Except I'm right," Scott countered.

"Except you're right," Flynn conceded. "All right then, everyone buckled in? It's goin' to be a bit of a rough ride." He gunned the engine and they started flying over the dunes back toward Corinth. Troy leaned forward through the back window as Flynn caught Scott up to speed on the happenings inside the city.

"Venjix is loose all over," Flynn was saying. "The school's firewall is holding up, but it also means that the people inside can't get out-"

"So then we can't get in," Scott frowned. "Any word from Dillon, Summer or Tenaya?"

Flynn shook his head. "Nothing. I'm actually surprised your call got through to me," he added. "Communications are dodgy to say the least."

"If we can't get in-"

"How are we going to help Ziggy and Dr. K?" Gem finished his sister's question.

Troy looked over at Noah, who was cradling his broken laptop in his arms. "If you know someone who can fix a laptop," he began, "I think we know someone who can help with that."

* * *

The sun was starting to set as Flynn parked the truck on a dune overlooking Corinth. Troy whistled as he surveyed the dome. "It's huge," he said. "I thought it was going to be smaller."

"Everyone that was left on the East Coast had to make it here," Scott explained. "We were humanity's last hope." He popped open the truck door and climbed out, his boots sinking into the sand. "And now we are again."

"You have help this time," Emma told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Troy smiled at his girlfriend's empathy. "We'll find a way to get you in."

"I just hope everyone's okay," Scott said. "Those are my friends and family in there." He kicked the dirt.

Troy left Emma with Scott. He saw Orion wander over to join them. Troy walked over to where Flynn was sitting with Gem, Gemma, and Noah's busted laptop. He passed Gia and Jake on the way. Gia was leaning into Jake, her eyes closed. Jake offered him a sleepy wave. "How's it going?" he whispered, trying not to wake Gia.

Troy pointed. "On my way to find out." He grinned. "Looks like things are going good here," he teased.

"Yeah," Jake replied. "Yeah. Wake us when we're ready to storm the castle," he kidded.

Troy nodded. "Will do." He went over to the group and sat down with them. "How's it coming?" he asked.

Flynn was wearing a helmet lamp and was looking down at Noah as Noah bent over his laptop with a screwdriver and some other tools. "We've got the cover screwed back on," he said. He ran a hand through his hair. "That's where my expertise ends, sadly." He pointed to the computer. "I don't do computers."

"That's okay," Noah spoke up as he opened and closed the laptop cover a few times to make sure it was reassembled correctly. "That's where I come in."

"Your friend is amazing," Gemma told Troy. Troy saw Noah duck his head.

"Yeah he is," Troy agreed. "Keep at it, guys." He grinned. "The sooner we save Corinth, the faster Flynn can fix our Skyship and we can get back for Noah's birthday." He left and wandered back over to Emma, Scott and Orion.

"Your birthday's coming up?" Gem asked Noah.

"Saturday," Noah confirmed. Then he frowned. "Or, whatever day it is here." He looked at Troy's retreating back. "I'm surprised they remembered."

"Why wouldn't they?" Flynn asked. "They're your friends."

"Yeah, well," Noah snorted, "I'm just the fifth wheel."

"You should talk to Scott about that," Flynn told him. "That's how he is in our group." At Noah's confused look, he grinned. "What, you think it's the Red Ranger that gets the girl every time?" He laughed. "It just so happens that our Scott is unattached. But that doesn't mean we leave him on his own all the time. Scott's a very valued member of our team."

"Yeah, 'cause he's your leader," Noah mumbled as he popped the back on the computer to check on the hardware inside.

"No," Gem said, and Noah's hand paused.

"He's our friend," Gemma finished.

Noah didn't say anything, but the RPM rangers watched him attack the laptop with a little more enthusiasm.


	48. Birthday Boomin'

"The good news is, I think I wrote a program that can override the city's grid long enough to get inside," Noah explained an hour or so later.

"And the bad?" Orion prompted him.

"I can't shut Venjix down for good with just my laptop," Noah continued. "It just doesn't have the processing speed for a job that big. This is bigger than just some quick virus scan on your home computer."

"Hey, if you can get us in," Scott told him, patting him on the shoulder, "I know some friends who have something a little bigger than that thing," he said, pointing to the laptop.

"What are we waiting for?" Gem asked, standing. His sister popped up next to him.

"Let's make things go boom," Gemma nodded.

"How close do you need to be for that to work?" Troy asked Noah as the group started for Flynn's truck.

Noah did some mental math. "Ten feet?" he guessed.

"How long do you need to be within ten feet?" Flynn asked. "Not that I'm trying to rush you, but the city's defense grid is a bit tetchy about sharing personal space."

"It shouldn't take more than a minute or two," Noah said. He held up his computer. "It's ready to go, I just need to hit go, for lack of a better term."

Jake clapped his best friend on the shoulder. "I always knew your nerdiness would come in handy someday," he teased him.

Flynn put the truck in drive and began driving full tilt toward the city. "I'm going to get up parallel with it, and then stay moving, try to make us a tougher target," he yelled over the engine. "Can your computer do whatever it's going to do on the go?"

"Hopefully," Noah whispered, loud enough so that only Troy heard him. The city's white walls loomed ahead. Flynn threw the truck sideways and began driving all out.

"I think it found us!" Gia yelled to Noah, his fingers already flying over the keyboard. She and Emma held hands and watched as a panel started opening in the city's wall and what looked like a futuristic gatling gun started inching its way out.

"Almost…" Noah gritted his teeth. "Come on, come on." The blue bar on the screen was loading. 65%.

"Everyone _down_!" Scott commanded and everyone ducked as well as they could into the truck as the gun began firing. Projectiles thunked into the dirt behind the truck. "Flynn, can't this thing go any faster?"

"I'm givin' her all she's got, Lieutenant!" Flynn yelled back.

80%.

85%

A bullet pinged into the truck near Noah's head and he ducked his head, taking his fingers off the keyboard so he didn't hit Cancel by accident.

95%.

"I'm running out of places to go!" Flynn yelled. More panels were opening up and if they didn't get stopped soon, the entire outside of the city would be ringed with them. There'd be nowhere for the truck to go except right back into the line of fire.

99%

"Come on!" Noah yelled.

100%. Noah punched ENTER with gusto.

The guns sputtered…then lapsed into silence.

Everyone popped their heads up above the sideboards of the truck. "Are we dead?" Jake asked.

"You _did_ it!" Troy yelled. He shook Noah's shoulder so hard he almost knocked his glasses off his friend's face.

"Let's move!" Scott yelled, and Flynn threw the truck into a tight circle and made for the entrance gate into the city. The truck rumbled through the small tunnel, entering a brightly-lit…and eerily silent…metropolis.

"Where _is_ everyone?" Emma whispered.

"Lockdown," Gemma explained. "Stuck inside."

"Flynn, I hate to say it, but we need to lose the wheels," Scott said. "We're the only thing moving, and that makes us a target."

Flynn frowned. Then, he put the truck in park. "I'll come back for you," he promised, following his friends out into the silent city. Scott led the charge, angling toward the Corinth Academy for the Gifted.

"Whoa," Gem breathed.

"Look at that," Gemma added, and the group stopped to look at the twins. Gemma was pointing. Troy followed her outstretched hand to a skyscraper near the city center that was crackling with energy. "The power station," she added.

"If that thing goes, life support goes," Scott noted.

"If life support goes, we _all_ go," Flynn confirmed. "We need Dr. K."

"We should split up," Scott decided. "I'll take Troy's team and we'll go to the school. If we can get in, we can get to Dr. K, and maybe she can work on shutting down Venjix."

"You might need someone on the other side," Noah spoke up timidly. He looked at Troy. "I'll go with Flynn, Gem and Gemma to the power station."

"Are you sure?" Scott asked him. "Gem and Gemma are geniuses…they could probably figure it out with a little instruction."

"Even that might not be enough time," Noah disagreed. "I'm computer-literate. It's all I'm good for." He looked at Troy. "I want to do this."

Troy looked at Noah. His friend was determined. "Be careful," he said finally, and Noah nodded, pushing his glasses a little higher on his nose. "And Noah? That's _not_ all you're good for."

Noah smiled.

"We'll take care of him," Flynn promised. "Go."

"I'll go with them," Orion offered, seeing the look on Troy's face. Troy nodded to him gratefully. The group split, and Troy followed Scott as he took off at a jog.

It felt like it took forever. Every step, Troy was convinced that it was going to be their last. Jake kicked a can on accident and the sound thundered in the empty city. Finally, Scott held up a hand and Troy and his team paused behind him, looking across the street at a rounded building with a brightly-colored green sign that proclaimed it home of the Academy of the Gifted.

Scott was bent down, gripping a grate with both hands. "This is a maintenance tunnel," he explained. "If we can get in here, we can get right into the school. No way we're going through the front doors."

Jake bent down with Gia and the three of them helped Scott pry it out. The sound was deafening, and Emma and Troy stood guard as their three friends made their way into the access hatch. Troy sent Emma down, and then, he went.

It was pitch black save for some orange emergency lights. "Here," Scott said after a minute, finding a door labeled 113. "This is the boiler room for the school. No electronic keypad." Scott led them inside. The five of them exited out into a stark white hallway. "I don't know where everyone is," Scott said worriedly, "but let's just keep moving until we hear signs of life."

"Like that?" Troy asked, pointing ahead. A lone security guard was blocking their path. Something was off about him though. As they got closer, Troy could see….well, it looked like _circuitry_ ….instead of two normal eyes.

"How did you get in here?" the guard asked.

"The non-tech way," Scott replied. "We walked."

"You'll never stop Venjix. Venjix will rise again."

"Venjix is about to become obsolete," Scott returned. "Again." The guard smirked, then, attacked Scott with surprisingly inhuman speed. He tossed Scott into the wall like he was a rag doll, and Troy jumped in, ducking under a punch and tackling him around the knees. The guy felt completely solid. Like Robo Knight, but with skin. "He's not human," Troy breathed. "How do we stop him?"

"Everything has an off switch," Scott yelled. "Hold him!" The four Megaforce rangers held the guard in place while Scott reached into his flight suit. "For emergencies only," he noted, pulling out a small object. He stepped on the chest of the guard and plastered a thin square of something on the exposed skin near his neck. "Move, move!" Scott yelled urgently, and the group let go of the guard and took off down the hall as the guard got to his feet…and then dropped like he'd been Tased. Pulses of electricity shivered up and down his uniform. Part of the skin burned away to reveal more circuitry.

"He…he was…" Gia gaped, pointing.

"Hybrid," Scott replied darkly. "Half-human, half-Venjix. We thought we'd destroyed them all but…I guess this guy was waiting in the wings." He pointed. "Come on. The lab is this way, and I'm sure that's where everyone's holed up." He took off at a sprint, and the others followed. Scott ran down a corridor and skidded to a stop, banging on the window of the room he was standing in front of.

A curly-haired man's face popped up, making Scott jump in surprise. A moment later, the door slid back and Scott was enveloped by a shorter, thinner man, wearing a green suit jacket and green sneakers. "Scott! My man. My hero, my friend-"

"Ziggy!" Scott cut off. "Breathe."

Ziggy Grover let go of his former team leader and ran a hand through his curly hair. "Sorry. It's just, seriously, dude, you have no idea how good it is to see-" He got a good look at the Megaforce Rangers. " _All_ of you…guys…here…exactly who are they?"

"Rangers from another dimension," Scott said with a wave of introduction. "More later. Is Dr. K-"

"Waiting for you to stop blabbing and help!" This came from a young woman with short, dark hair pulled into a severe bun, who was seated in front of a computer, furiously typing away. "Ranger-Scott," she amended, "I trust our mole has been taken care of?"

"He won't be getting up," Scott confirmed. "Uh, Troy, everyone, this is Dr. K. Dr. K, we've got Flynn, Gem and Gemma and some friends of theirs in the power control room, waiting for you."

"I've isolated where the Venjix virus originated from," Dr. K told him. "It was in Rang-Summer's morpher."

"Summer's?" Scott's jaw dropped. "But she-"

"Was human," Dr. K confirmed. "Still is. I assume it must have been transferred during our final fight with Venjix. Perhaps Summer was next to be disconnected from the Morphing Grid before Venjix was eliminated and that's when the contamination happened."

"Our friend managed to shut down the city defense long enough for us to get in," Troy told her, cutting into the conversation. "Is there a way to shut Venjix down before life support goes critical?"

"Of course," Dr. K replied, sounding miffed, as though Troy had just asked the genius doctor what one plus one was.

"Noah, did you hear that?" Jake called Noah on their morpher. "She's gonna-"

" _Whatever it is, do it fast!_ " Noah's voice was urgent. " _We've got company here!"_

* * *

_Harwood_

Carter Grayson leaned casually against a planter, one hand flipping the pages of his paperback, his eyes scanning the crowds in downtown. "Anything?" he asked into his cell phone, which was on speaker in his lap.

" _I think you're being paranoid,"_ the voice of Joel Rawlings answered back. " _We've been here almost a full day and nothing's happened."_

" _Maybe the Armada took a day off_ ," Kelsey suggested from her spot at the food truck across the plaza.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Chad said, sitting down on the bench across from Carter. "Knowing them, they probably sent the kids out of town on purpose."

"Not just out of town," Dana corrected. "Out of _universe_."

The skies darkened, and Carter looked up. "Still think I'm paranoid?" he muttered to Joel, standing and letting his phone fall from his lap as about twenty X-Borgs materialized in the plaza."Twenty of them and six of us with no Power," he said to Chad.

"Let's hope the kids get back soon," Chad replied, his fists tensing.

* * *

_Corinth_

" _We can hold them off_!" Orion assured Troy. " _Just hurry_!"

"I don't have enough power from here to implant the virus I've created into Venjix," Dr. K informed them calmly.

"What if you sent it to Noah at the power plant?" Emma asked. "Could he transmit it somehow through there?"

Dr. K paused, considering. "That's a feasible thought," she said after a moment.

"She hates that you came up with it first," Ziggy added, and Dr. K shot him a glare, then shook her head.

Troy handed his morpher over to Dr. K and she spoke into it. "Noah?" she asked. "Send me the destination of your laptop."

Noah repeated the laptop's home address. In the background, Troy could hear shouting from Flynn, the twins, and Orion, and the sounds of combat. " _Got it_!" Noah confirmed. Troy could hear typing on the keys. " _I just need to-"_

There was a yell. " _Orion!"_ Noah cried out.

"Noah!" Jake yelled. "Is he-"

" _He's good!"_ Noah assured them. " _Gem's got his back. I'm almost….There!"_

"He did it," Dr. K noted. She sounded very impressed. "Your friend is very, very good," she noted to Troy with an approving nod.

"Yeah," Troy countered with a grin. "I know."

"Come on!" Scott told the group and everyone followed him out of the room and out into the streets. As they burst into the daylight, Scott shielded his eyes and looked west toward the power station.

The crackling energy was gone.

A shrill ring cut through the moment of silence, and Scott reached for his cell phone. "Dad?" he asked. Then he shook his head. "I mean, Colonel Truman, sir. Yes sir, everything is A-OK on our end."

" _No more traces of Venjix_ ," Gemma's voice crackled over the morpher.

"We did it!" Ziggy yelled, pumping his fist. The group turned to look at him. "What?" he shrugged. "What'd I say?"

"I'll be returning to base shortly, sir," Scott said, shaking his head at his Green Ranger teammate. "I have something I need to take care of first."

"So what's the diagnosis, Doc?" Jake asked Flynn as he came out of the cockpit of the Skyship.

"I'd say with a few more repairs, she's good as gold," he replied. "This is cool, never thought I'd get to work on a pirate ship."

Gemma followed with a portable welder. "This thing is-"

"Awesome!" Gem proclaimed, slapping the hull.

"That's still creepy," Jake whispered to Gia. Gia only grinned and shook her head.

Scott shook Troy's hand. "Thanks for everything," he told him. "I still don't know how you got here, but I'm glad you did. If you ever need us…we'll find a way to get to you."

"I appreciate that," Troy nodded. "Flynn, if we're all patched up, we should head home. I sort of left my parents in charge while we were gone and we'd better go see how they're doing."

"Your _parents_?" Ziggy asked.

"Long story," Orion told him.

* * *

As the Skyship took off, Scott heard the rumble of a familiar engine. The Renegade cruised to a stop and a familiar figure in a black leather jacket poked his head out of the window. In the passenger seat, a blonde woman inched her way out so she was sitting on the window ledge. Both of them stared in shock at the flying pirate ship.

"What the hell is that?" Dillon asked, noting the group.

"What are all of you doing out here?" Summer Landsdown asked.

"What'd we miss?" That came from Tenaya, Dillon's sister, who had poked her head out of the backseat.

Scott looked at Flynn, Ziggy, and the twins. Then, he turned to Dillon.

"Long story."

"Sounds like one worth sharing," Dillon said. "How 'bout we trade?"

"Sounds good," Scott agreed.

* * *

_Harwood_

Ryan Mitchell slugged an X-Borg with his right fist and yelped in pain. "Geez! These things have hard heads!" he yelled.

"I'm aware," Carter yelled back, reminded of his own bruised hand the first time they'd fought them, shortly after the initial wave. "What I wouldn't give for a nice soft Batling right about now."

"At least they're not driving little go-kart things," Joel noted as he swung the arm of an X-Borg into another.

"I'd take the go-kart," Chad argued, planting a foot in one of the X-Borgs and dropping it into the fountain.

"I think I'm too old for this!" Kelsey protested.

"Don't worry Aunt Kelsey, we got you!" Troy's voice sounded from somewhere above Kelsey, and the Lightspeed Rangers turned to see Troy and his team sliding down some ropes from their SkyShip.

"That thing is so cool," Dana grinned.

"We have something even cooler," Orion told her with a smile. "Watch this!" He looked at Troy, and Troy nodded. "Let's go Legendary!" Orion whipped out his morpher, pulled out a key. "RPM! Get in Gear!"

In a burst of light the teenagers were covered in metallic suits. Emma's was black instead of pink. What looked like seatbelts criss-crossed the front of them. Orion's was split; one half of the suit was gold, the other silver.

"I feel the need…" Troy said aloud, stepping forward in an offensive position.

"The need for speed!" Noah agreed.

The six of them made short work of the X-Borgs. It almost looked like they had wheels. As the last one fell, the suits disappeared and the teenagers stood before the Lightspeed team.

"So," Troy asked, looking around the plaza. "How were things while we were gone?"

The older rangers looked at the teenagers in disbelief. Then, Ryan said, "Let's put it this way…'Earth's defenders' can have their job back!"

"Can you keep it a little longer?" Troy asked his uncle. He looked at Noah. "We have a birthday to celebrate." Noah grinned as Troy threw an arm over his shoulders and the six of them walked away.

"Sure," Ryan muttered, watching their backs. "Sure, we'll watch the planet for you. Again. No problem."

"I'd say after a day of dimension hopping, they deserve a break," Carter told his brother in law. "Come on guys."


	49. Family Ties

"That T-rex skeleton was the _best_ ," Noah enthused Monday morning as the team walked to Mr. Burley's class. The group of them had gone up the coast to check out a new dinosaur museum for Noah's birthday, and Noah was _still_ gushing about it two days later.

"Oh I dunno," Jake disagreed, slipping his arm into Gia's, "I thought that Bronto Burger was the best," he grinned.

Gia rolled her eyes. "Only you," she groaned. "It was a fun road trip though," she said, "and we'll definitely have to go again sometime."

"Our celebration when the Armada's finally beat," Emma beamed. "I _like_ that idea." She glanced up at Troy and squeezed his hand. "What do you think, Troy?"

"Sounds like a great idea," he replied, sounding distracted. Emma frowned and stopped walking, pulling the others to a stop as well. Troy looked around as his team stared at him expectantly. "Sorry, guys," he apologized. "I didn't sleep last night."

"Did you have the dream?" Noah asked him, and Troy nodded. 'The dream' was of course, the giant apocalyptic battle Troy had been seeing since he'd moved from Mariner Bay to Harwood. It had been absent for awhile, but since coming back from Corinth, it had returned in great detail. Troy had woken up that morning feeling like he'd been in the fight of his life without leaving his bedroom.

"It didn't end well," Jake guessed, and Troy's silence confirmed it. "Let's hope it's not prophetic," the Green Ranger said grimly.

"Of course not," Emma said, leaning into Troy and rubbing the back of his neck. "It's only a dream."

The first bell rang, and the group took off at a run for Mr. Burley's class.

* * *

_The sounds of battle were fading, and all around him, people were cheering, hugging, congratulating. Someone in a Red uniform came up and clapped him on the shoulder. "You've done it!" they said proudly. Troy popped his helmet off and grinned, exhausted. It was over. They'd won._

_And then, from somewhere in the distance…a low rumbling. The congratulations ceased, as everyone turned to look over the ridge._

_X-Borgs. Thousands of them. All converging on the beach. And then they opened fire. The person standing next to Troy fell, a smoking wound on their uniform…a uniform with a red and white swirl…_

"… _.Dad?" Troy choked out in horror._

_The suit faded away, and Carter Grayson looked up at his son. He reached for him with one hand. "Troy…"_

* * *

"Troy?"

Troy's head hit the table with a resounding thunk and he looked up, blearily, at his father. Carter set his lunchbox down on the table and looked at his son with concern. "Are you okay, son? That looked like a pretty hard hit."

Troy blinked a few times to clear his vision. His forehead was smarting. "Yeah," he said after a moment. "Yeah, sorry. I must've fallen asleep."

"What are you working on?" Carter leaned over the table and grimaced at Troy's English homework. "Ah, Greek roots. That's enough to put me to sleep too," he joked. His son didn't laugh, and Carter frowned. "What's wrong, kiddo?" he asked him. "This looks like more than just homework."

"Do you remember that dream I've been having?" Troy asked him. When his father nodded, he continued. "I've had it again the past couple of nights. I'm seeing more now, in it. More of the battle. There's X-Borgs. Thousands." He paused a moment before continuing. "Dad, I don't think it's a dream. I…I think it's _real_. Like it's going to happen."

Carter sat down at the table next to him. "Like what…a premonition?" he asked him.

Troy nodded. "It feels so real..." He snorted. "It sounds so stupid," he said. "That stuff….it doesn't happen in real life." He looked at his father, who had gone suddenly blank. "Right?" he pressed. "Dad?"

Before Carter could answer him, Troy's morpher sounded. Gosei's voice. Something was happening downtown. Something _big_.

"Dad?" Troy tried again.

" _Simulations can feel pretty darn real," Joel told him as Carter climbed out of the Mobile Armored Vehicle's hatch._

" _Tomorrow you've got to fly the_ real _Mobile Armored Vehicle," Miss Fairweather informed him. She looked him in the eye. "Are you gonna be ready for it?"_

Carter blinked, and looked at his son. "Are you okay?" Troy asked him, their roles suddenly reversed.

Carter nodded. "I'll tell you later," he said. "Go."

Troy nodded as he disappeared in a burst of red light, leaving Carter sitting alone at the table. After a moment, he reached for the phone on the wall, and dialed. "Hey, Joel. How's it going?...Not bad. Hey, I'm sorry to call, you guys are probably at the dinner table but…could I talk to Angela for a second?"

* * *

Troy appeared alongside his teammates moments later in an alley downtown. Troy instantly saw the reason they'd been called. Bearing down on them from the other end of the alley, like a bad Western standoff, three figures were coming toward them. "Consider this your eviction notice!" the one in the center was announcing, a blue and white figure that bore a striking resemblance to-

"Does he not look like Vrak?" Noah asked Troy as they stopped, blocking the end of the alley.

"Yeah," Troy said, seeing it, "yeah, he does."

"A relative?" Noah wondered.

"That's one ugly family, if that's the case," Jake snickered.

"Surrender….or be destroyed," the Vrak-like alien was announcing, throwing his arms wide, and smiling.

"Who made _you_ our landlord?" Gia yelled at them. The three aliens stopped, as if they'd seen the Rangers for the first time.

"Yeah," Jake backed her up. "Who do _you_ think you are?"

"Who am I?" the white and blue alien almost sounded insulted. "How do you not-How _dare_ you interrupt me!"

"Oh, we dare," Emma shrugged.

"How dare _you_ try to conquer _our_ planet?" Troy countered.

"I am Prince Vekar!" the white and blue alien announced. He pointed at the rangers. "You destroyed my brother, Vrak! I've had enough of your meddling, and I'm here to inform you that today is your final day on this planet!"

Troy looked at the others before turning to Vekar. "We didn't destroy your brother. He disappeared after his first invasion _failed_ miserably."

"Like you've been doing so far," Jake added.

"You dare to insult me?" the prince whined. "Matacore!"

"Time to go legendary!" Troy called out in counterattack as the blue horned alien called Matacore stepped forward. "I think it's time we mixed it up a bit." He inserted his red ranger key and turned it. "It's time for Time Force!" he announced, as his body was enveloped by the red and white Time Force Red Ranger suit. Along with him, he saw suits of pink, yellow, green and blue appear. Orion came to stand next to him, wearing an almost identical suit, black where Troy's was white. "Chrono Sabres!" Troy called out, brandishing his.

Orion twirled a futuristic-looking pistol. "Quantum Defender!"

"Argus, perhaps you'd like to join in on the fun?" Prince Vekar gestured to the other alien, a silver-and copper armored, skeletal being.

"With pleasure," he growled, advancing. Noah stepped forward blocking his staff with his Chrono Sabre as the others took on Matacore and a smattering of X-Borgs who had been called to join the fight. "Good always wins over evil," Noah told Argus, holding his sabre out in front of him.

Argus shook his head. "Not this time," he replied. His staff began to glow. "Solar Slash… _energize_." He cut two glowing lines in the air in an X-shape. They grew brighter, almost like a burst of lightning, and slammed into Noah.

Noah went flying backwards, rolling several times in the dirt. His Time Force uniform disappeared, and he was left in his civilian clothing, clutching his stomach in pain. His entire body felt sunburned, and he could smell smoke coming from somewhere. Argus stood in his place, watching Noah writhe on the ground. The Armada general rolled his eyes. "Pathetic."

"Put him out of his misery!" Prince Vekar ordered him.

"As you command," Argus replied. "First you, Blue Ranger. Then the others." His staff began to glow again as Noah tried to scramble backwards and out of the line of fire.

Troy attacked Matacore, swinging the ChronoSabre in a tight arc, trying to catch him in the torso. But Matacore caught the blade and shoved Troy away. The others came at him, but Matacore blocked each of them in turn. "At least _try_ to put up a fight," the general hissed. Troy took another swing. Matacore blasted him backwards. He slammed into a dumpster and rolled off the top, hitting the alley floor hard.

"Well done, Matacore!" the prince praised his general. "This should show my father I'm up to the job!"

 _Job?_ Troy wondered as he climbed to his knees. Gia and Emma appeared, helping him to his feet. "Where's Noah?" he asked as Jake came running to join the four of them. Orion laid waste to a few more X-Borgs before joining them, the red Quantum Ranger suit disappearing as the legendary Power timed out.

"In trouble!" Jake replied grimly, pointing to where Noah lay a few feet ahead of them, out of morph, and directly in Argus' line of fire.

"Quantum Defender!" Orion didn't hesitate. He pulled his blaster and fired. The shot went wide, missing Argus, but hitting Prince Vekar in the shoulder. The Prince staggered.

"The Prince has been hit!" Matacore's attention left the Rangers and went to his commander. "Retreat!"

"But we could end them!" Argus protested. But seeing the Prince, he growled in frustration. "We'll return," he promised.

The three of them disappeared, leaving the Rangers alone in the alley. Jake ran forward and helped Noah to his feet. "You okay, man?" he asked him. Noah nodded, kicking the dirt. "I'm sorry, guys," he said.

"Don't be." Gia shook her head. "We were all getting our butts handed to us." She looked skyward. "So that's Vrak's brother, huh?"

"He said he was hoping this would show his father that he could handle the job," Troy said, remembering.

"Job?" Emma asked.

"Of conquering Earth," Troy guessed. "And they'll be after it worse now. Before it was just us against a bunch of alien generals. This time, we're up against a family. And family goes to any lengths when something's happened to someone in the family." _Speaking of family…_ "I need to get home. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Without another word, Troy disappeared.

"What was that all about?" Emma wondered, looking at the vacant spot.

"I don't know. I'll ask about it when I get home tonight," Orion promised her. Troy's girlfriend gave him a relieved smile as they broke rank and went back what they were doing before the Prince had interrupted.

Troy found his father at home, still seated at the kitchen table. There was a single bottle of beer sitting in front of him, opened, but not drank. "I'm calling Mom," Troy decided, reaching for the phone. His father's behavior was _scaring_ him. Carter grasped the handset, waving his son off. "I already did," he replied. "Orion's on his way too." He shook his head. "We have something to talk about, and I need the whole family to hear it."


	50. A Secret Revealed

Orion let his bike fall to the yard as he sprinted up the steps into the house and threw the door open, skidding into the kitchen. "What's happening?" he asked breathlessly. He looked at Troy and Carter, who were sitting in the kitchen. Both were silent. "Guys?" he tried again. When neither Grayson spoke, he put a hand on Carter's shoulder. " _Dad?"_ he said sharply, and finally, both men looked up. "Sorry," Orion apologized, "but you guys are creeping me out with the silent treatment!"

Carter managed a small smile. "Don't apologize," he replied as he realized what Orion had just said. "You can call me that anytime." He turned around and stood up, enveloping Orion in a hug. "Sorry for scaring you," he apologized, then turned to Troy. "Both of you," he amended. "It's just…something you said, Troy…." He sighed. "I'll wait until everyone gets here, then explain. It'll be easier that way."

Orion sat down next to Troy at the table. "Is this about the Prince?" he asked him. Troy shook his head.

"What Prince?" Carter asked.

"I'll explain later, too," Troy replied.

A car door slammed and Dana let herself into the house, tossing her keys on the counter. "Dad just called, he and Ryan are about ten minutes out," she said. "I imagine his Lightspeed status is going to get them out of more than one speeding ticket."

"Where's Kels?" Carter asked.

"Climbing," Dana replied. "Ryan said he'd fill her in later, assuming this's something he can comprehend." She looked at her three boys. "Someone going to fill me in?"

"It has to wait for Angela," Carter said. "Too complicated to explain it more than once."

Dana nodded. "I'm going to throw some coffee on," she said. "I get the feeling it's going to be a long night."

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, the Graysons were joined by Bill and Ryan Mitchell and Joel and Angela Rawlings. Chad had called saying he was in the middle of lessons and couldn't make it, but that he wanted someone to fill him in as soon as possible. Once everyone had moved to the living room, all eyes turned expectantly to Carter. "Floor's yours, son," Bill told him.

Carter looked down at Troy, seated on the floor at his grandfather's feet. "Troy, if you would, can you tell everyone here what happened with your dream?"

Troy ran a hand through his hair and let out a breath. "The dream's been getting more intense," he began. "I'm starting to see more. Before, it was just flashes. Different Ranger teams. The sounds of combat, but I couldn't see what we were fighting. But since we got back from Corinth…it's been getting…worse. More vivid. Like, last night, I saw X-Borgs. Thousands. T-They started shooting at everyone." He looked at his father. "You got hit."

Bill put a hand on Troy's shoulder as Dana's grip tightened in Carter's hand. "Anyway, I told Dad that….it's not like a dream anymore. It's too _real_. It's like…like a vision or a premonition or something."

There was a moment as everyone took that in. Then, Carter spoke.

"Angela…do you remember when the Mobile Armored Vehicle was in testing phase?"

She nodded. "The malfunctions. The first few test runs didn't go well."

"I remember that," Joel added. "You asked me for flying tips. And I couldn't get you up in a plane."

"I don't blame you," Angela told Carter quickly. "Anyway, go on?"

Carter hesitated, glancing around the room. "I never told anybody about that day. But…the final time in the simulator…I had this….vision, I guess."

All the air left the room and everyone was completely silent. "I didn't say anything because I didn't know what to make of it," he said. "I saw you guys-the team," he told Dana. "Olympius…he killed you all with the Rescue Bird. And I couldn't get there because the MAV wasn't working."

"You _freaked_ out," Joel remembered. "I remember that, clear as day. You kept saying, 'you're alive'!"

"Because you'd _died_ in my…whatever it was," Carter informed him. "And then the day of the actual flight test…it all happened. _Exactly_ like it did in the vision during the sim test."

"That's why you didn't want us to use the Rescue Bird," Dana realized.

"Or why you kept yelling at me to call the team back," Angela put in.

"Whoa," Ryan breathed, summing it all up. "I mean, it can't be a coincidence, can it?" he asked the scientific minds in the room. "Carter's vision, Troy's dream?"

Angela and Bill were quiet. Orion kicked Troy's foot with a reassuring nod. "So…the dream…me being a ranger…it's not by chance," he said. He looked at his parents. "It was like, fate." He shook his head. "Why me?"

"It's unusual," Angela said, looking at Bill for confirmation. "A father and a son both becoming rangers? I can only think of one other time that happened, in Briarwood."

"That's correct," Bill agreed with her. "There was also a set of siblings on that team." He looked at Carter. "Lots of coincidences with Lightspeed."

"Yeah, but wasn't there magic involved with Mystic Force?" Ryan asked. "Dad, you created Lightspeed from the ground up."

"Well, I had a little help," Bill corrected his son gently with a nod at Angela, "but we connected the morphers to the already-existing Morphing Grid," Bill replied. "No one knows for sure how the Morphing Grid works. Lightspeed was one of the few times morphers were created specifically by science. Many other rangers became rangers by chance. Some by destiny."

"So what you're saying is….I'm having visions because the Morphing Grid works in strange and mysterious ways?" Troy said bitterly. "That's not a great reason."

"No, it's not," Angela agreed sympathetically. "And your grandfather makes a good point. Some rangers become rangers by chance, although I argue in your case, it's _not_ chance. In your case…it's in the DNA. You've got two parents who were rangers. Your uncle was a ranger. Your grandfather and I figured out a way to tap the Morphing Grid. You've got a few more things in your past that make you more…susceptible, to becoming a Ranger."

"Don't forget the part where the uncle was raised by demons," Ryan put in sarcastically. "We should've apologized for your screwed up family tree a long time ago, Troy."

"That doesn't explain me though," Carter told her. "My mom and dad were a teacher and a firefighter," he said. "My brother's not a Ranger. I get that the Grid looks for certain qualities, and those qualities were ones you looked for when you picked me, Bill, but, it doesn't explain the vision? I don't remember anything like that happening before I became a Ranger, though," Carter said thoughtfully. He looked at Angela, then to Bill. "Maybe the Morphing Grid…I dunno… _did_ something to me?"

"Did it ever happen again?" Angela asked. " _After_ the MAV incident?"

"There was one other time," Carter said quietly, and Dana looked up at him in confusion. "When we lost our memories."

"God that was awful," Dana recalled. "But what do you mean? You got them back."

"Yeah, but there was one…memory…I guess, that hadn't happened. Or at least, hadn't happened _yet_." Carter sighed, running a hand through his hair in an exact copy of his son. "It was you and I," he told Dana. "We were at a baseball game."

"I hit you in the face with my ice cream cone," Dana remembered. She frowned. "But that _happened_. I was there."

"You're right, it did…two years _later_ ," Carter said. "We all went to the Mariner Bay Dolphins game for your dad's birthday."

Dana'a face went white. "Are you saying…you _saw_ that before it happened?"

He nodded.

"Dude, you're _psychic_!" Joel announced. Everyone in the room laughed, but it was an uneasy laugh.

Angela was thinking. For once, the scientist didn't have an answer. "Short of an MRI or something…I don't know what to tell you. I could make a few phone calls to some other...experts...if you want, but otherwise...I don't know if I have an answer for you."

"This _sucks_ ," Troy said. "I don't want this…these visions of death and destruction. What if the next death I see is Mom's? Or Orion's? Or Uncle Ryan's?" He hit the floor with his fist. "What if it comes _true?"_

"Mine didn't, at least, not the one of the Lightspeed team," Carter told him. "It was just a possible outcome, I guess. The same could be said for yours."

"What if that's it, though?" Orion wondered. "He's had this dream a lot, right, Troy?" Troy nodded, and Orion continued. "Maybe it's showing you a future you can _change_ , not one that's going to happen."

"Besides, it's gonna take a lot more than those tin can heads to take me out," Joel kidded, trying to lighten the mood.

"But things are getting worse," Troy pointed out. "The Armada is desperate. They turned a general into a suicide bomber. They tried to stick us in another dimension. And now their Prince has shown up to get revenge for his brother."

"You're not defeated yet, Troy," Bill said.

"But maybe we're destined to be," Troy countered. He got up. "I'm going to bed," he told everyone shortly. He left the room without another word.

Orion looked up the stairs. "What do we do?" he asked. "If Troy thinks we're destined to be defeated…he'll go into every battle thinking we're going to lose." He rested his chin on his knees. "And we'll be defeated before we even set foot on the battlefield."

Carter glanced at the clock. "Then we need someone to change his way of thinking," he said. "Dana, could you grab me the phone? It's late but I have a feeling he'll still be up."


	51. The Master of My Fate

The next morning, Troy's alarm went off like usual, but he didn't get out of bed. What was the point? Today could be the day the X-Borgs and Prince Vekar ended everything, so school wasn't really on his top priorities list.

There was a knock on his bedroom door. "Hey, kiddo. You up?" Carter called to his son through the door. Troy didn't answer, so he let himself in. Carter eyed his son and raised an eyebrow. "Playing hooky today?" he asked him.

"Not really feeling school today," Troy said, staring up at his ceiling.

"Good," his father said, and Troy's gaze drifted to his father. "I called in sick for you. But you're not staying home."

"I'm not?" Troy's mind was racing. His dad was pretty chill on a lot of things, but missing school for no reason wasn't one of them. His dad's philosophy was if you could stare at a computer screen at home, you could stare at a teacher at school. Unless you were dead or dying...you were getting an education.

"Nope. Get dressed and get decent. There's someone downstairs I want you to meet. Oh," and Carter added as an afterthought, "you might want to adjust your attitude."

"Unlikely," Troy muttered as he swung his legs out of bed. He tossed on a pair of jeans and a cutoff t-shirt, overlaying it with a red flannel shirt. Then, he followed his father downstairs to the living room. There was a person sitting in his dad's chair. Said person was wearing black combat fatigues, sunglasses and a bright red beret. He stood up in one fluid movement and stood toe to toe with Troy. Troy took a step backwards. _If Dad's trying to scare me…it's working._

"So," the person in the beret said. "This's him, huh?" His eyes never left Troy, or at least he didn't think they did. The sunglasses were mirrored.

Carter nodded. "This is my son, Troy. Troy, this is Wesley Collins of the Silver Hills Silver Guardians."

Collins took off his sunglasses. "Your dad tells me we have something in common," he told Troy, looking seriously at the teen. "Said we needed to talk."

Troy looked at Wesley Collins. "How do you know my dad?"

"Your dad helped me out a long time ago with a demon problem," Wes told him, with a knowing look at Carter. "I'm here to return the favor."

"Wesley Collins…"Troy mulled the name over. "Time Force." He looked between the two men. "You guys fought together. On the moon. With the other red rangers."

Wes nodded. "You must tell that story more than I do," he told Carter. "I mention the moon, most people get very, very confused."

Carter laughed.

Troy looked at his dad questioningly. "If you won't listen to me, or your mother," Carter shrugged, "maybe you'll listen to him. Have a good day!" He looked at Wes. "Dana's home around seven, and you're welcome to join us for dinner, since you made the trip."

"We'll see how the day goes," Wes decided, shaking Carter's hand. He turned to Troy. "Shall we?"

Troy slipped on his sneakers and followed Wes out the door to a waiting black SUV. Troy climbed in the passenger side as Wes started the vehicle and pulled out of the driveway. They drove in complete silence for a few miles until Wes pulled into the parking lot for the state park. "Let's go," he told Troy, getting out and ushering for the teen to follow him. Troy got out and jogged to keep up with the taller Silver Guardian. They walked for what seemed like forever, until they'd gotten to Jessup Point. It was early enough in the day that they were the only ones out on the trails. "Have a seat," Wes pointed to the picnic bench sitting at the peak of the hill. Troy climbed onto the table and sat down. Wes joined him a moment later.

"I'm going to tell you a story," Wes told him. "You don't have to say anything, but you _do_ have to listen. Something you didn't do with your father last night. Yeah," Wes confirmed when Troy glanced sideways at him, "your dad called me last night. Woke me out of a dead sleep to tell me that he couldn't get through to you and that he needed help."

Troy said nothing, staring out over the city. The quiet city… _for now_.

"My dad is Albert Collins," Wes began. "The name ring a bell?" When Troy didn't answer, Wes added, "BioLab."

That was a name Troy knew. It was a big genetics research company. His mother talked about BioLab a lot in relation to the hospital. "My dad built BioLab from the ground up with his bare hands," Wes went on. "Fortune 500 company. Top scientific facility in the world next to CERN in Switzerland. And from the time I was old enough to walk, he was grooming me to be in charge of it all one day. My _destiny_ ," Wes emphasized the word.

Troy looked at him. "That's a little different than my situation," he said. "Did my Dad forget to mention that?"

"He didn't," Wes assured him. "I know your whole story, Troy Grayson. Your dad told me everything. And I'm not done." He gazed out over the city. "The year after I graduated from prep school, four people came into my life. Jen, Trip, Katie and Lucas. They were Time Force officers. Police officers from the year 3000."

 _Time Force_. That was another name Troy knew, considering he'd just worn Wes's uniform.

"I fought alongside them for the better part of a year," Wes said. "I was chosen to be the Red Ranger because I was- I _am_ \- an ancestor of their former team leader, a guy named Alex. My DNA unlocked the morphers so they could be used together." He paused. "Looking back, I think I was literally born to be a ranger." He chuckled, then turned serious. "Our battles got harder. Things we were doing were literally changing the future. And Alex had to step in. He recalled the team…everyone but me, of course, because I wasn't from that time. 'You're not from the year 3000,'" he told me. And later, after the others had returned, he told me my future. He told me that in the final surge, I died."

Troy was silent for a moment. "But you're still here," he said.

Wes nodded. "Exactly. I thought that was my destiny-first to run BioLab, then to die in our final fight."

"How did you….how did you do it?" Troy asked him. "You thought you were gonna die, but you fought anyway."

"I did it because it was the right thing to do," Wes said. "I was _terrified_ ," he confessed. "I didn't want to die. I didn't want people I loved to die, like my dad. Like my teammates. But I also knew that I had changed my destiny once by becoming a ranger. I wanted to do whatever it took to change it again."

"This dream I keep having," Troy said. "It _scares_ me. I've literally seen every single Ranger team up until my own in this giant mega battle. I'm leading the charge. I'm scared. I'm afraid I'm going to get someone killed. I'm afraid _I'm_ going to die. If that's my destiny…" He ran his hands over his face and looked up at Wes. "I want to _change_ it. I don't want it to happen the way I've been seeing it. But I'm scared that…that I can't. That this battle is coming and there's nothing we can do to stop it, and it's the end of everything as we know it."

"The only way you're going to change it," Wes explained to him, "is if you _believe_ you can change it. If you go into the rest of this with the feeling that you're going to die, then it's all over. You need to have the confidence to lead your team. To make the call on the battlefield. To do whatever it takes to win. If you go in defeated…" Wes shrugged. "That's exactly what will happen." He took off his sunglasses and looked Troy in the eye. "I changed my destiny. _Twice_ ," he added with a grin. "Trust me, if I can do it, so can you."

"Time is fluid," Troy said quietly, remembering something Bridge Carson had told him months ago. "Time can be changed."

Wes nodded. "Exactly."

Troy stared out over the city, silently processing everything the veteran ranger had told him. Just then, his morpher chimed.

" _Troy!"_ Gia's voice yelled over the comm. " _Vekar is back…with Argus, and two new guys. They say they're the royal guard! We could use some backup!"_

"What do you say, Troy?" Wes asked him, listening to the conversation. "Your team needs you. Or are you convinced you can't win?"

Troy looked down at his morpher, then raised it to his mouth. "I'm coming, you guys. Hold them off 'til I get there _._ " He looked up at Wes. "Thank you."

"Anytime for a fellow Red. You're part of the team now, kid. Now go. Your friends are waiting on you."

He watched Troy disappear in a burst of light, leaving him alone on the table. His cell buzzed in his pocket. Thinking it was Carter, he pulled it out. "He just left," he said.

" _Who just left?"_ a gruff voice asked him, sounding annoyed. " _What are you doing in Harwood?"_

Wes chuckled. "Sorry, Eric. Had something to take care of. Where are you?"

" _Halfway to Harwood! Dispatch told me my partner left this morning and you haven't been answering your cell!"_

"Aw, Eric, were you worried about me?" Wes teased his Silver Guardian partner as he got off the bench and started walking back to the vehicle.

" _Shut up. You're the one who gets to explain to my wife why I'm not home for dinner tonight."_

Wes cringed. "Maybe Taylor needs to fly here for the day, I got an offer for free dinner here. I'm sure they won't mind two more."

" _Turned on that Collins charm huh?"_

Wes rolled his eyes.

* * *

Troy appeared in a burst of light downtown and immediately looked around for his teammates. Small piles of concrete and metal were scattered around and some of the greenery was smoking. "Guys?" he yelled out. "Where _are_ you?"

He heard the sounds of explosions, and metal on metal. It was coming from a parking garage down the block. He took off at a run. Inside, he was greeted with a rolling ball of flame and smoke and he dove sideways as it exploded out the ground floor entrance. Heat seared the back of his neck and shirt. As the air cooled, he raised his head, just enough to see inside. Ahead of him, he saw Noah and the others making to stand. Across from them, Argus, Prince Vekar and two red-armored aliens (the guard Gia had mentioned?) were gloating.

"Everybody okay?" Gia was asking.

"Well done Argus. It seems my shock and awe tactics have done the job!" Vekar stepped forward. "Feeling tired yet, Rangers?"

"You destroyed my planet!" Orion yelled at him. "I won't rest until you're defeated. You won't get this planet too!"

"It will all be over soon," Vekar seemed indifferent. "If I were you…I'd surrender."

"Surrender isn't in our vocabulary!" Troy stepped into the fray, morpher in his hand. "You'd think you'd have figured that out by now!"

"Troy!" Emma said, relieved.

"Nice to see you, buddy," Jake clapped Troy on the back.

Troy pointed at Vekar. "Your reign on this planet is gonna be a short one, Vekar. Just like your brother!"

Vekar howled. "Your insolence will not be tolerated!" He looked skyward. "Launch the Megazord!"

Jake paled under his helmet. "Launch the _what_?"

Vekar disappeared along with Argus and the guard. The rangers turned and sprinted for the street. The ground shook below their feet as they looked up to see…

"That thing has Vekar's face!" Noah gasped.

"Vekar has his own _Megazord_?" Orion said in disbelief.

"A gift to me from my father!" Vekar's voice thundered down on them. "The Armada Megazord! Nothing will stand between me and my triumph!"

"Just us!" Troy yelled.

Shots rang out. Troy ducked and turned. Argus and the royal guard were behind them. "The prince will lay waste to your city, while we take care of you!"

More shots were fired, but this time, Argus and the guard were the ones ducking for cover. Troy turned to see a black SUV with flashing lights blocking the end of the street. Standing in front of it was Wes Collins, and another man in similar uniform that Troy didn't recognize. He was taller, with black hair and sunglasses. Both were holding smoking pistols.

"No, _we're_ taking care of _you_ ," Wes told them. He nodded to Troy. "You guys go. We've got this."

"Who's that?" Emma whispered to Troy.

Troy grinned. "Help," he said with a smile. "Come on guys, we've got a MegaZord to stop!" He waved to Wes. "Let's go Legendary!" he commanded, pulling out his key. "It's Time for Time Force!" Red light engulfed him, and the uniform of the Red Time Force Ranger appeared.

* * *

At the end of the alley, Eric Meyer's jaw dropped. "Uh. What in the _hell_ Wes?" he demanded.

Wes fired point blank at Argus, hitting the Armada soldier in the arm. He looked at Eric with a shrug. "I don't know, but there's one of you too!" He pointed. Where a silver-jacketed teenager had been a moment before now stood a shorter Quantum Ranger. Wes chuckled. "God, there's _two_ of you. Taylor'll have a heart attack."

"Let's take the fight to him!" Troy ordered. "Summon Skyship!" The giant pirate ship appeared on the horizon and the six rangers teleported to the bridge. "We've got to give him all we've got!" Troy said. He looked to Orion. "We might need a little extra boost," he suggested.

Orion shot him a thumbs up. "No problem," he grinned. "Summon Q-Rex!"

Outside, there was a prehistoric growl.

"Is _that -"_

A staff came swinging his way, and Eric ducked, pinning it to the hood of the SUV. He took a moment to see the silver Q-Rex, _his_ Q-Rex, thundering toward the battle.

"Looks like," Wes grunted, shoving Argus backwards. "Quit staring and give me a hand!"

Orion fired on the Armada MegaZord at the same time Troy unleashed a volley of shots. The MegaZord staggered, but didn't fall.

"You can attack with everything you've got, but you can't stop me!" Vekar's voice echoed down the skyscrapers of downtown.

"Wanna bet?" Troy shot back. "Let's show him what the future holds, guys! Orion, summon the Quantasaurus Rex!"

"With pleasure," Orion growled behind his helmet. "Summoning Q-Rex Zord!"

Eric froze at the familiar sound. "How in the-"

"Seems to be a question you're asking a lot lately," Wes kidded, reaching into the backseat of the SUV and pulling out a long baton. He flipped it in his hands. "Let's beat these guys so we can help the kids," he said.

* * *

The silver Q-Rex thundered into battle. "Let's give him both at once," Orion suggested. "I'll just step outside."

"Say _what_?" Gia asked him.

"The Q-Rex doesn't have a cockpit," Noah explained. "But Orion can control him with the Quantum Ranger powers."

"Go for it!" Troy gave him a thumbs up. Orion vaulted from the MegaZord, narrowly missing a blast from the Armada MegaZord. He landed on one knee on the pavement. Shots rang out behind him. "Q-Rex Lasers!" Orion told the Q-Rex. Bright bolts of light shot from the eyes of the dinosaur-shaped Zord.

He sensed something behind him and ducked as a royal guard took a swing at him. Just as quickly, the guard slammed into a wall on the other side of the street, and Orion glanced back to see Eric Meyers slam his foot into the guard's face. He took a moment, looking at Orion. "That's _my_ uniform," he told the younger Ranger.

Orion shook his head. "It's also your Zord," he replied. "Don't worry, I'm just borrowing them. I'll put them back when I'm done," he grinned. He turned his attention skyward. "Q-Rex Drill!"

The tail of the Q-Rex detached and reattached itself to the arm of the Zord.

"I'm impressed," Eric admitted.

Orion rolled his eyes under his helmet. "You haven't seen anything yet," he said dryly. As the Q-Rex attacked above in unison with the MegaZord, he turned his attention to the battle in the street. Argus and the two royal guards were regrouping. "Super Silver Spear!" Orion yelled, holding out his hand as the silver trident materialized. "Power of Six!"

* * *

Eric stood, in complete surprise, as shadowy figures surrounded the silver suited kid. A silhouette he recognized as himself, one of Ryan (the Titanium Ranger, an old friend), and a few he'd never seen before. The shadows merged into a ball of energy, and Orion swung it down the street. Argus and the two royal guard disappeared in a ball of silver light. The area stood empty now, save the two former Time Force rangers and Orion.

"Nice work," Eric said.

"'Nice work'?" Wes echoed from down the street. "That kid does you better than _you_ do!" he proclaimed.

* * *

Above the three men, The Q-Rex drill powered its' way into the Armada MegaZord's chest. Troy and the others followed that up with a powerful final strike. Orion watched as the Prince's megazord staggered. "This is it!" he cheered the team on. "You've got him on the ropes!"

"Who's the guy in the other one?" Eric asked him.

"A planet-destroying prince of the Armada," Orion replied. "He's out to avenge his brother. The rangers destroyed him in the first wave, I guess. No one's seen or heard from him since it happened."

The anti-theft alarms on the SUV blared, and Orion and Eric both put their hands over their ears. Eric looked back. Wes was on the ground, unconscious. "Wes!" Eric yelled, dropping his hands and running down the road, Orion on his heels.

Something hit him, and sent him flying into the divider on the parking garage. He hit it broadside and collapsed.

Orion skidded to a stop, his boots sliding on the pavement. "What the _hell_?" he exclaimed, using one of Troy's favorite sayings.

Something large came at him, checking him into a storefront on the other side of the street. He landed hard, his suit dematerializing. He groaned in pain and rolled to see his attacker stepping through the broken window. Blue eyes glowed, and the last thing Orion saw was a very large foot coming down toward his face.

* * *

"One last time!" Troy commanded. The MegaZord's cannons unloaded on the Armada Megazord. The rangers heard Vekar's echoing scream as the Armada MegaZord was ripped apart from the cannon fire. It exploded into several pieces, each raining down into the city in different places.

"Got him!" Troy cheered, pounding his fist on the console. The others yelled in exultation.

Then Troy noticed. The Q-Rex was standing by, unmoving. "Orion, you can recall the Q-Rex," he said into the comm.

The giant silver T-Rex stood silently. "Orion?"Troy tried again.

"Why isn't he answering?" Emma wondered.

Troy shook his head. "Let's get out of here and find out." The five of them exited the MegaZord and dropped to the street. There were no signs of Argus or the royal guard. The lights on the Silver Guardian SUV were in full emergency mode, and the sirens were blaring. Then, Troy spotted Wes Collins collapsed on the ground in front of it. His suit flashed away and he sprinted down the street. "Wes!" he yelled over the din.

The elder Ranger's eyes fluttered open. "What in the hell happened?" he asked, grimacing as he touched the back of his head. "Last thing I remember, something came out of the parking garage. Blindsided me."

Troy helped him sit up while Jake reached into the SUV and killed the lights and sirens and alarms. The street grew eerily quiet. "Where's Eric and Orion?" Jake asked as he slid out of the driver's seat.

They heard a moan nearby, and Gia and Emma ran to help Eric to his feet as he unsteadily got up from his place on the pavement. "Wes," Eric said, zeroing in on his partner. "You okay?"

"Been better," Wes groaned. "You?"

"Whatever hit us, it took that kid," Eric said. "The kid in the silver jacket."

" _Orion?"_ Troy went pale. "He's gone?"

"Hey!" The exclamation came from Noah, who was looking down at his suit. It was disappearing, fading from Time Force blue to the pirate blue. He pulled his key from the morpher and dropped it in surprise as it crusted over with a gray stony substance.

The others' suits faded away as well, their keys becoming encased in the same substance.

"What's happening?" Emma gasped. "Our keys...they're like _rocks_!"

Troy pulled out his morpher and the stony key. "Legendary Ranger...Lightspeed Rescue!"

Nothing happened.


	52. The Bigger Picture

Dana Mitchell's heels clicked down the hallway as she entered the admitting room for the ER. She slapped a hand on down on the desk and the nurse on duty looked up sharply. "I need to see a patient. Wesley Collins. Where is he?"

The nurse pointed down the hall. "Curtain three!" she called after Dana, who was already headed that way. Ahead, Dana could hear familiar voices arguing.

"I'm not staying here!"a male voice was protesting. She pushed back the curtain to see Wes Collins trying to sit up off the hospital bed, and Eric Meyers pushing him back down. The nurse was trying to reason with Wes, but Dana knew that the Silver Guardian was having none of it.

"Wes Collins. Sit down and shut up," Dana said in her hospital voice. Wes looked at her and froze. She tapped his chart. "You've got a concussion. Whatever hit you hit you hard enough to leave trace evidence behind. You're spending at _minimum_ 24 hours here."

Eric smirked at Wes. "Told you," he said. He grinned at Dana. "Hi, Dr. Mitchell. Nice to see you again."

Wes groaned and leaned back, accepting defeat.

"Now that that's settled," Dana said, nodding to the nurse that she could leave, "where is my son?"

* * *

"Tensou, can you get us security footage from that parking garage?" Emma asked their robot friend. The teens had retreated back to the command center to regroup and search for their missing friend. Tensou plugged into one of the consoles and began searching.

Emma looked over at Troy. Her boyfriend was pacing the walls of the cave, his hands running along the keys, all of which had faded from their bright ranger colors to a sickly, stony gray. They'd tried multiple morphs, and none of them worked. Gosei had told them something was corrupting the Morphing Grid. They were lucky they could morph into their Super Megaforce modes.

Troy hadn't spoken since they'd discovered Orion was missing. The two of them had grown really close-like brothers. She'd had Jake call Carter Grayson to tell him. Orion was part of the Grayson family, and Carter had told Jake to tell the others in no uncertain terms to "raise hell until you find him."

"Got it!" Tensou chirped a moment later, and they gathered around the console while Tensou played back the footage from the camera. "It doesn't cover the whole street," he said apologetically.

"It's not your fault," Noah reassured him. He watched the footage, cringing as he saw Eric Meyers get thrown into the wall. Something hit Orion, sending him flying across the street. The footage was black and white and grainy, but- "Look, right there," Gia pointed. Something dark stepped deliberately across the street. It was impossible to see what it was, but the something came with a bright flash of light. Two bright spots, in what looked like the head of the figure.

"What the hell was that?" Jake asked.

"It _looked_ like Vekar," Emma observed, "but it can't be him. We destroyed him."

"Well, who do we know that's got eyes like that?" Gia wondered.

* * *

The Harwood Art in the Park Festival was one of the biggest gatherings of artists and craftsmen on the west coast. Despite all of the Armada attacks being centered in Harwood, many of the vendors and artists had decided to come to Harwood anyway. Some of the wilder ones thought it would help boost their creativity. The Harwood Council on the Arts thought it would help boost morale. But most of the vendors had dropped their $250 nonrefundable registration fee and just didn't want to lose out. After all, when you were a struggling artist, that was a _lot_ of cash.

Vendors were already in the park early in the morning, setting up their booths and displays. Near the entrance to the park (an ideal place to catch all of the attendees first), a young, dark-haired man with Middle Eastern features lugged a blue hardsided case over to a table and dropped it to the ground.

"You better pray all my lenses are still in one piece," his companion, a woman with dark hair and bright brown eyes, chided him gently. She adjusted a foldout metal display rack behind the table and turned to put her hands on her hips, glaring at her husband.

He grinned. "I'm pretty sure if anything broke, we can fix it," he reminded her. "Stop stressing. It's bad for business."

She stuck her tongue out at him. As she did, the ground rumbled beneath their feet. The display tipped over and fell to the grass. She reached out a hand for her husband and he gripped her arm tight, steadying her. Just as soon as the tremor began, it stopped.

The two of them frowned, looking around. Other vendors were busy cursing and resetting their displays. "That was weird," the man said, helping to put the rack up again. "I know what I'd blame if we were back home," he added, "or, _who_ , I guess."

"Yeah, see, I wouldn't have jumped right to him. I'd have gone with the supposed alien warlords who keep trying to take on the Power Rangers here," his wife countered.

He grinned. "Always with the bigger picture," he teased her gently.

* * *

"We've got bigger problems!" Tensou cut in, wheeling himself over to them and using one of his little robot arms to tug Noah toward another console. Noah pushed his glasses up on his nose and looked down.

He paled. "What the _hell_ is that?"

The others glanced at each other, then came running over. Noah nodded to the screen. Not far from the Command Center, _something_ was protruding from the ground. Something large. Almost as big as the MegaZord, rounded on top and pointed near the bottom.

"The USGS in Los Angeles registered an underground tremor about two minutes ago," Tensou buzzed. "It must've been that…whatever it is!"

"What should we do, Troy?" Gia asked their Red Ranger. Troy was staring at the Ranger keys. Gia wasn't even sure he'd heard the whole conversation about the thing sticking out of the ground. She shook her head. "Okay, here's what we'll do. Jake, you and I will go check out that thing. Emma and Noah, why don't you guys go through the database thing Gosei gave us and see if any past Ranger villains have those eyes we saw." She looked over at Troy. "And Troy, if you're listening….why don't you have the local PD put out a missing person report for Orion. If he's still in town somewhere, maybe somebody saw something." She clapped her hands. "All right, let's get to work." The four of them left the command center, leaving Troy with Gosei and Tensou.

"Troy?" Tensou chirped, rolling over to him. He poked him with his arm. "You're going to find Orion," he told him. "I know you will."

He didn't get a response. The little robot rolled away to monitor for any more disturbances, leaving the Red Ranger alone.

This was worse, somehow, than losing Emma to Dream Snatcher. This was ranking up there as almost as bad as when Metal Alice tried to blow up the train with his mother on it. Orion was _family_. And he was missing. Whatever had taken him had managed to put a veteran ranger and accomplished fighter in the hospital. The ranger keys were useless.

Things were looking very dark.

* * *

Orion's eyes fluttered open. Bright light filled his vision, and he squeezed them shut again instantly. The last thing he remembered was being on the street with Wes and Eric. His entire body hurt. Carefully, he opened one eye, then the other, letting the light filter in gradually. The room he was in looked unfamiliar. White and metal. There was a clear window across the room. Orion squinted. Out the window, he saw… _Was that a_ fish? He tried to shake his head to clear his vision, but it was held firmly in place. He could feel something cold across his forehead and over his chin. _What the hell_? he borrowed the Earth saying from his adopted family. "Where am I?" he asked aloud. It was comforting, somewhat, to hear his own voice. He tested his arms and legs. They, too, were held in place. He couldn't tilt his head to look down to see how.

"Sixth Ranger," a low, mechanical-sounding voice said, and Orion jerked.

"What the hell? Who are you?" he demanded. "Where am I?"

A face filled his vision. Bright blue eyes. Silver metal face. Orion's hear started to beat a little faster.

The mechanical voice hissed in his ear, "You're _mine._ " Orion heard a high-pitched whine from somewhere beside him. The metal on his forehead was growing warmer. Then hot.

Then, he screamed.

* * *

Emma hovered over Noah's shoulder as her friend scrolled through the Ranger database. "I don't see _anything_ that looks like what we saw on that tape," she said. "You know this database better than anyone…does it stick out to you?"

"Unfortunately, glowing eyes seem to be a trademark," Noah sighed. "I've been through fifteen Ranger teams and there's villains that match that build and description in all of them."

Emma rested her head on the back of the chair. "I'm worried about Troy," she confessed to Noah.

"Me too," Noah assured her. "He's totally shut down right now. Losing Orion hit him hard. Add to that losing the Legendary powers, and with everything else…" He rubbed his face with his hands. "We couldn't have asked for a better leader, but I'm worried that-"

"He'll crack under the pressure?" Emma finished the thought, and Noah nodded. "We've _all_ gone through so much in the past….God, it's almost been a year…and I think we've all come close to losing it once or twice. I've had nightmares so bad I've had to lie to Mom and tell her they're about Dad."

"I thought about quitting," Noah told her, and Emma looked up. "It's true. Right before we all went to Corinth. I didn't feel like I was contributing. I didn't think I could keep on fighting." He shrugged shyly. "You remember what I was like before I became a ranger. How Jake and I became friends."

Emma nodded. "You've grown a lot, though, Noah. You're not the weak science geek anymore. Just like I don't hide behind my grades and my camera lens anymore since I met Gia."

"Troy's had it worse than us, though," Noah said, leaning back in his chair. "I mean, between growing up a Ranger kid, with parents in the spotlight, the whole bullying thing…Now with Orion, and feeling like we're never going to win…" Noah looked back at Emma. "He's got to live up to a pretty legendary legacy."

"Troy is strong though," Emma replied. "Physically _and_ mentally. He'll come back from this."

"Until then," Noah said, "it's up to the rest of us to help carry the weight." He cracked his knuckles and placed them on the keyboard again.

Emma's morpher chimed. " _Emma! It's Gia! You guys need to get to the quarry!"_

"Did you find something?" Emma asked her.

" _Oh yeah,"_ Gia's voice was grim. " _And you won't believe what it is…"_

* * *

Troy felt his shoes sink into the sand of the beach as he joined the others from the command center. He'd listened to the comm chatter. _I can't just sit here and sulk._ It wouldn't do any good, and after all, his father _had_ said to raise hell. They were going to find Orion. _And then we're going to kick some alien ass._ He felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck as the others teleported in. They all looked up. Standing about 300 feet away from them in the ocean was-

"Vrak?" Troy's jaw dropped. His mind flashed back, months before.

" _Your new body will be unrecognizable," the Messenger told Vrak. "Your family and the Armada will not know you. You should go into hiding, my Prince."_

_Vrak lifted his head. "If I can't do it myself…I take comfort knowing you won't live much longer," he told the rangers._

_Then, without another word, he disappeared._

"He came back?" Gia was dumbfounded. "After all this time?"

"Did you think I was gone for good?" Vrak's towering form was _laughing_ at them.

"You should've stayed gone," Jake ground out.

"You won't be back for long," Troy said with more bravado than he felt. "We'll take care of you."

"Just like we did with Prince Vekar!" Noah added.

Vrak threw his head back and laughed. "My _useless_ brother? You did me a _favor_!"

"How can you talk like that…about your own _brother_?" Emma gasped.

"He was a _fool_ ," Vrak sneered, "but first in line for the throne. Now I'm back to claim my rightful place!"

"You'll have to go through us!" Troy yelled up at him. He looked at the others. "Let's cut him down to size!" He pulled out his morpher, saw the flash of red as the pirate uniform appeared. "Maybe we can't go legendary, but we can still take you on!"

"I think you'll find things are a little…different," Vrak said matter-of-factly. "You have no idea what you're up against. No legendary rangers can help you now…I took care of the ones on the street so easily!"

" _You?"_ Troy realized it first. "You took Orion! Where is he?"

Vrak smiled from high above them. "I've got him. We're spending a little…quality time…together. The next time you see us, you'll be in for quite a shock."

He looked down at them. "I'm going to tear your Earth apart. My father may want this planet for its' resources, but I don't think he'll mind me turning it into an empty, lifeless _shell_." He smirked. "Which is precisely what I'm doing to your friend."

With that, he fired at them. The wave of energy knocked them backwards onto the beach. Troy fought to get up, managing to make it as far as his elbows. "We're not finished!" he yelled at Vrak.

"Far from it," Vrak agreed with him. "I won't finish you off. There's someone else who should have the… honor… of destroying you." He looked at the drill sticking out of the ocean. "See you soon, Rangers."


	53. Wipe Out

The five rangers sat in defeat in the Harwood Public Park. Gia and Jake were sitting on the back of a bench, Noah resting with his back on the seat, staring up at the sky. If he turned his head just right, he could see the top of a drill Vrak had placed on the other side of town near the airport. Troy and Emma were sitting in the grass in front of the bench, Emma resting her head on Troy's shoulder.

"What are we going to do about Orion?" Emma asked finally.

No one had an answer for her. She sighed and gripped Troy's hand tighter as they watched the people milling around the art festival. She and Troy had planned on going as a date day, but neither of them felt like wandering around. The crowd was a good place to talk without being overheard, and maybe spot something unusual.

 _Plus,_ Troy thought morbidly, _more people around means a higher chance of attack from the Armada._

"Vrak said he had him somewhere," Jake said, rubbing his knees absently.

"Yeah but Tensou couldn't find him," Gia reminded him.

"Dad asked the phone company to track the cell phone we gave him too," Troy said mutely. "Nothing." He leaned back against the bench and closed his eyes. "Vrak's been a step ahead of us all this time. _Months_."

"There was no way to know that, Troy," Gia told him. "He kept his head down."

"Really well," Noah added.

"We had other things going on, dude," Jake pointed out. "Like an invading army flying over our heads."

"Vekar," Emma added.

"Robo Knight," Troy said under his breath, so only Emma could hear him. "We just forgot he existed," he said, and Emma couldn't tell if he was mad or sad, or if he was talking about Vrak or Robo Knight.

"We didn't forget," Emma replied reassuringly, squeezed his hand. "We just had bigger priorities. Vrak was a wreck after Robo Knight…" she trailed off, seeing she wasn't convincing him.

"He's here now, anyway," Gia said. "Our first priority should be finding Vrak. We find him, we make him tell us where Orion is."

There was an explosion behind them, and Gia and Jake both turned at the same time as Noah's head popped off the armrest of the bench. Jake swore. "Uh…found him."

"Um...no," Jake said in shock. "Not just Vrak…" He pointed shakily to the gap in the crowd.

Troy scrambled to his feet and turned around as people started running past them, screaming. He froze, and his blood ran cold. Troy gaped. " _Orion_?"

Vrak was striding toward them, a look of triumph on his face.

With him on his other side…the Silver Ranger stood, his Silver Spear in his hand.

"What have you _done_ to him?" Emma gasped.

"Orion, dude, it's _us_!" Jake yelled at him.

The Silver Ranger stood motionless.

"There's no _way_ Orion would work for you!" Troy yelled at Vrak. _Oh my God_ , he thought in panic. _Vrak kidnapped Orion and brainwashed him into working for the Armada_. His friend…his _brother_ …was standing on the side of the planet's worst enemy.

"He's under _my_ control," Vrak told them smugly. "Corrupted and reprogrammed."

"Monster!" Noah growled, clenching his fist.

"Vrak has shown me the light," Orion's voice came from under his helmet. Troy paled. The lighthearted tone of the Andresian was gone, replaced by a monotone, robotic-sounding droll. "This planet doesn't deserve to exist. It must be destroyed. Like Andresia."

Gia shook her head in disbelief. "This isn't _you¸_ Orion!" she called to him. "You are here to _save_ this planet, not _destroy_ it!"

"Vrak destroyed your planet!" Jake added. "You came here to _stop_ the armada, not _join_ it! You're with _us_!"

Orion shook his head. "Why would I stand with _you_?" he asked in disbelief. "Enough talk. It's time to surrender, Rangers."

Troy glanced around. "We can't fight him," he said. "What-what if-" _What if we have to destroy our friend to save him?_

"If we get to him," Noah suggested, "maybe we can capture him. Reprogram him…somehow."

Troy tensed. Then, he nodded once. "Then we capture Orion and get him back. Let's do it." He pulled out his morpher, turned the key. His suit appeared in a burst of red. Then, he looked at Orion.

"Don't make us do this, Orion! We don't want to fight you!"

Orion's voice was deadly calm. "Too bad," he said, and then he attacked, swinging his Spear in a wide arc at Troy. The blow was a glancing one, sending Troy flying into a table that had been tipped over. He hit the top and fell over the top of it, landing hard on his back. He looked up through his visor into the concerned faces of a man in a black leather jacket with red racer stripes down the sleeves and a woman in a blue dress shirt. "You okay?" the man asked him.

"What are you doing here?" Troy demanded. "Get out of here while you can!"

The man and woman exchanged looks. "You look like you could use some help," the woman said after a moment. She stood up, pulling something from her pocket, that looked like a golden flip phone. She flicked it open and pointed it at Orion and Vrak with a grin at Troy. "Do you believe in magic?" she asked him. " _Galwit mysto oceanum,"_ she called out. A jet of water blasted from the phone, surrounding Vrak and Orion in a bubble of bright blue water, blasting them across the park. Vrak hit the ground with an ungraceful thud. Orion rolled, losing his grip on his Spear.

"Witch!" Vrak hissed at her.

She smirked as her husband came to stand beside her. "I'd be insulted, except it's _true_!" she yelled back at him.

"We'll be back, Rangers! Another drill will soon be in place! There's nothing you can do to stop me now!" Vrak taunted them. "Without your Legendary Powers, you're _worthless_. And without your Sixth Ranger…" He smiled. "Your planet will be _ours_." With that, he and Orion disappeared in a flash of silver light.

Troy turned to the man in the leather jacket, his suit disappearing. He collared the guy. "What did you _do?_ "

"Hey, get your hands off him," the woman argued. " _I_ was the one who did it!"

"Yeah, I'm getting to you!" Troy sniped back. "That was our _friend_ you just blasted!"

"You have interesting friends!" she shot back at the teen. "Get your hands off my husband." She shook the cell phone at Troy. "You've seen what I can do."

"Troy!" The voice was Emma's, coming from behind them. "Troy, let him go!" He heard her step up beside him and yank on his arm. "Do you know who that is?"

"Never seen him before," Troy growled, tightening his grip on the guy's jacket lapels. "And I don't _care_."

"Not _him_ ," Emma countered, yanking his hand away. " _Her!"_

"What are you talking about?" Troy's eyes never left the man's, who was surprisingly calm for having witnessed a monster attack, his wife blasting them with a jet of water from a cell phone, and having an irate teenager trying to choke him.

" _Troy_ ," Emma hissed. "She's Madison _Rocca_."

"The photographer?" Troy didn't sound convinced.

"And the Blue Mystic Force Ranger!" Noah realized. He looked at the man Troy was still holding onto with one clenched fist. "Which means _you're_ -"

"Nick Russell," the dark haired man introduced himself. "Red Mystic Force Ranger. And that guy over there? That was _not_ your friend," the man told Troy. "You ah...mind letting me go?"


	54. The Love of Family

Nick Russell brushed off his jacket as Troy stepped away from him.

"We're so sorry!" Emma was apologizing to Madison. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she tried to subtly yank Troy farther away from Nick. "We had no idea it was you," she told Madison. She looked at Nick. "Or you," she added.

"Think that's the whole point of a secret identity," Nick pointed out. "Something you were just about ready to throw away right there," he said pointedly. "So whatever is going on must be pretty serious."

"Well you've sorta seen the problem," Jake said. "That Silver Ranger back there used to be our buddy Orion."

" _Used_ to be," Troy said shortly. "Like you said," he said, looking at Nick, "not anymore."

Nick glanced sideways at Madison. "And people think _I've_ got a temper," he muttered to her out of the corner of his mouth. Madison tried to bite back a grin. He turned to Troy. "Look, I feel you, man," he said. "I was in your shoes. I even feel your frustration and your temper-Troy, right?" When Troy nodded, Nick paused for a moment thoughtfully. "I've been there. I even had that moment when everything was falling apart and I was ready to throw in the towel."

Madison threaded an arm around his waist. "I wasn't planning on getting back into the game," she said, "but you guys look like you could use the help, and I think we can help you out there."

"Starting with your friend," Nick said. He held out a hand to Troy. "If you'll let us."

Troy eyed his hand. "Troy, we're out of options," Gia said flatly, seeing his hesitation. "We could sure use the hand," she continued. "Vrak nearly killed us all around Christmas, and now with Orion on his side, he's almost unstoppable. _Almost_ ," she stressed, when Troy glared at her. She returned his gaze with an even stare. "Let's put it this way, oh Fearless Leader, if you don't say yes, then _I'm_ going to. You can't keep shutting down when things get tough, because if you do, then we have no one to lead us, and last I checked, that was sort of your _job_ as Red Ranger. Right, Nick?" she asked Nick.

He nodded in agreement. "That's what your friends are here for," he told him. "Even when things seem like they're the darkest," he said, with a knowing smile to his wife, "your friends are there to pull you through, to help take the burden. To let you know that you just have to believe...in yourself, in your team, and in whatever good power is still out there." Madison leaned into his chest and Nick rested his head on top of hers. "It might seem like there's no light at the end of the tunnel, Troy, but it's there."

Troy stared at Nick's hand for another moment. Then, he shook it. "All right," Troy said. "How do we get Orion back?"

"Yeah!" Jake cheered with a fist pump.

"That's what we're talking about!" Noah enthused. For the first time in a long time…Troy smiled. They were right. Everyone. _All_ of them. Wes. Eric. Nick and Madison. Gia… _everyone_. A long time ago, he'd questioned whether he was worthy to lead the team. But having Gia willing to step in, to have family, and friends, and people they'd only seen in computer videos willing to step up and help them give advice, and take the burdern, and help them fight… _Well_ , he thought, _with that kind of support, nothing is impossible._

"Troy!"

Troy turned at the sound of his mother's voice to see her and his dad running across the grass toward the group. They came to a stop and Dana wrapped her arms around Troy. "Are you okay?"

Troy nodded, still smiling. Then he frowned. "Fine but….how did you-?"

"I texted them," Emma told him. He smiled at her gratefully.

Madison was studying the new arrivals. "You must be Troy's mom and dad?" she asked, and Carter and Dana turned to her.

"Yeah," Carter said, with an identical brow furrow to his son. "How-"

"I'm a photographer," Madison said with a smile, "I notice things."

"Carter Grayson," Carter introduced himself. "This is my wife, Dana. And you are-?"

"Madison Rocca," Madison replied. "And this is my husband, Nick Russell."

Carter looked at Troy. "Are they-?"

"Rangers?" Troy finished. "Yeah. Mystic Force."

"So about that secret identity thing," Nick told him, his dark eyes looking slightly alarmed.

"It's okay," Troy said. "My mom and dad were Rangers too," he explained.

"No kidding," Nick said, raising an eyebrow. "My mom and dad were too." He grinned as he shook Carter's hand. "Family business, huh?"

"In more ways than one," Carter replied, returning the handshake. He looked at Troy. "We saw Orion. Is he-"

"Brainwashed, or something," Jake cut into the family discussion. "Vrak's got a hold on his mind. He thinks we're the enemy."

"I know a little something about that," Nick said, and the group turned to him. "I was possessed, once. By the Master. He was trying to erase good magic from the world. Got into my head. I did some not-so-good things while he was in control. My friends…my family," he added, looking at Madison with a sad smile, "they had to shake me out of it. But I destroyed a small settlement, almost killed my own father, before it happened."

"We need to get our son back," Carter told Nick. He looked at Madison. "What did you do?"

Madison looked up at Nick before answering. "We had to keep reminding him of who he really was. That he could fight the Master, get him out."

"My father refused to fight me," Nick said. He looked at Troy and Carter. "He stood in front of me, with no Ranger armor, to tell me he loved me and that I was stronger than the Master, that I could fight it."

"And that worked?" Dana asked hopefully. "Do you think it can work for Orion?"

Nick nodded. "The love of family is stronger than any mind control," he said. "At least, in my experience."

"Troy, you should go with your mom and dad, go find Orion," Gia suggested. "The rest of us, we could go try to find Vrak." She looked at Nick and Madison. "We can morph, but we don't have our stronger power-ups. We could use some of that…whatever that was earlier."

Nick looked at his wife. "What do you say, Maddie?"

Maddie looked down at the golden phone in her hand. Then she nodded. "Hey, why not?" she smiled. "He called me a witch. That was rude."

* * *

The Grayson family stared up at the wide-open door of a big shipping hangar near the port. Inside, they could hear the sounds of things being thrown around, what sounded like swear words (maybe in Andresian?) and spurts of smoke and sparks.

"This is where Tensou said he was, huh?" Carter asked his son, looking around. His fireman's eye was looking at the structure, finding the flammable items that could go up with a spark off a ranger suit. "Not the safest place for a showdown."

"He probably planned it that way," Troy said calmly. "I'll morph and try to talk to him. You guys hang back-just for a few minutes," he pleaded as his mother opened her mouth to protest. "If he's still in a fighting mood, I'm the best person to take the brunt of the attacks," he said rationally. He looked at his mother and father. "Once a ranger, always a ranger, I get that, but right now, I'm the only one with the suit."

Husband and wife exchanged looks. Then, Dana looked at Troy, put a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful," she told him.

Troy nodded. "Always," he grinned, his suit flashing into view as he walked away from them and into the warehouse. Inside, he followed the sounds of metal on metal until he found Orion, swinging away at some shipping containers with his Silver Spear.

"Hey!" he called over the din. "Orion!"

The Silver Ranger turned. He still had his helmet on, so Troy couldn't see his facial features, but if he had to guess, Orion was still under Vrak's thumb, and itching to cause some destruction.

"Troy," Orion nodded to him, his voice flat. "What took you so long?"

"I'm here to get you back, Orion," Troy said, ignoring the tone. "You're under Vrak's control. This isn't you."

Orion cocked his head to the side. "No, it's me," he said with a shrug. "Just finally figured out which side is the winning side," he told Troy. "It's not too late for you."

"You either," Troy replied. "The _winning_ side? You can't be serious. He spread his hands out and waved them around. "Orion, you're working for the guy who _destroyed your planet_. Have you forgotten completely about Andresia?"

"Long time ago," Orion brushed it off, but Troy heard it. There was _something_ …something in his voice.

"That's Vrak in your head," Troy guessed. "Telling you that." He took a few steps forward and he did something that probably wasn't too bright.

He took off his helmet.

"Troy, what are you _doing_?" Carter yelled from his place by the door.

"Trust me!" Troy yelled back. "I got this!"

Carter gaped as his son-his very _human_ looking son without the helmet-advanced toward the Silver Ranger. "I'm having some very bad flashbacks to a similar situation," he whispered to Dana as they crouched by the door.

"That one turned out okay in the end," Dana responded, never tearing her eyes from Troy and Orion. "Let's just hope this one does too."

* * *

Nick and Madison followed Gia, Noah, Jake and Emma to the beach below the Command Center. Out in the water, Madison could see the towering drill casting a shadow in the late day sun. She whistled. "That's no moon," she said under her breath. Nick glanced sideways at her. "What?" she defended herself. "Chip's fault."

"Of course it is," Nick grimaced.

"Hey, Emma?" Gia asked her friend. The Pink Ranger turned to Gia. "Think you could take the Skyship and launch a few potshots at that thing?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Maybe give Vrak a little wake-up call?"

Emma nodded. "Gladly," she said, yanking out her morpher as she took off at a run. "Summon Skyship!" she called out as her suit flashed around her, and the giant pirate ship made its' appearance.

"Chip would be _loving_ this," Madison said as she watched Emma take a running jump to land on the prow.

"Everyone, get ready," Gia said. She turned to Jake. "You keep an eye on them," she told him, pointing to Nick and Madison.

"We can take care of ourselves," Nick protested, but Madison put a hand on his arm.

"Don't argue," she said. "They've got suits and a pirate ship. We have wands." She turned to Jake. "We'll stay behind you," she told him, and Jake nodded as the Green Ranger suit appeared. He pulled out a sabre in one hand and a pistol in the other. Gia and Noah morphed as Emma brought the Skyship around and set her sights on the drill. "Here goes nothing!" they heard her say through the comms, and a volley of cannon shot was out and away, heading directly for the center of the drill.

It bounced off harmlessly, crashing into the ocean. "Didn't even dent it!" Emma lamented.

"Rangers!"

The Megaforce team on the beach and the two Mystic Force rangers turned to see Vrak coming toward them. He looked around the beach, then at them. "Beautiful place to witness your destruction, isn't it."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Enough with the grandstanding, Vrak, let's get to it already!" She aimed the Skyship cannon directly at him and fired. The shots thudded into the sand as Vrak stepped through the flame and smoke easily. Emma abandoned the ship and joined the others on the ground.

"If we stop him, we stop the drills," Noah guessed as Vrak laughed at them. He brought his sabre up.

"Are you sure?" Jake asked his friend.

Noah shrugged. "No idea, but I don't really have any others at this point." With that, he charged.

Vrak snickered as Noah surged forward. "Going somewhere, Blue Ranger?"

"Yeah," Noah snarled. "Through _you_!" He swung his sabre in a criss-crossing motion, the blades catching Vrak on the chest. Sparks flew, but there was little damage. Vrak lashed out, catching Noah's wrist and knocking his sabre loose. He twisted Noah's arm back, dropping him to his knees.

"Get your hands off him!" Jake rushed forward, firing at Vrak's exposed chest.

Nick looked at Madison. "How you feeling about this?" he asked her.

She clutched her wand and nodded to him. "Pretty good," she said tightly. She looked out to sea. "Think you guys can give me some cover? He might have thought about Ranger powers…but I bet he's never even thought about magic."

Nick winked at her. "I got you covered, Maddie," he said. He pulled out his own wand. "Step back," he told Gia and Emma, who were standing protectively in front of them. " _Galwit mysto ignis!"_

Gia and Emma dove out of the way as a fireball as tall as Jake appeared and roared toward Vrak. Jake caught Noah's arm and drove him to the dirt. The fireball slammed into Vrak, and this time, it knocked him backward.

Nick grinned, satisfied.

* * *

"I'm not gonna give up on you," Troy told Orion as the two circled each other. "Orion, ever since you came here, you've been like my brother. You're our _friend_." He stopped and looked at him. "You're still in there, somewhere."

"Open your eyes, _Troy_ ," Orion sneered at him. "You're on the losing side. How many more battles are you going to lose? How many Rangers will fall in the final battle?" He pointed at the Red Ranger with his spear. "You're going to lose. You can't defeat the Armada. You can't defeat Vrak." He lowered himself into a fighting stance. "You can't defeat _me_."

"I don't _want_ to!" Troy yelled desperately. "I don't want to fight you!"

Orion's tone was flat. "Too bad," he said, and with that, he launched himself using his spear as leverage, aiming his foot for Troy. Troy took the brunt of it and landed hard on the warehouse floor. He skidded backwards and hit a shipping container.

"Orion!" Dana yelled from the doorway. She got up and ran into the warehouse, stopping feet from Orion. "Stop!"

The distraction tactic worked. Troy aimed his blaster at a nearby fire extinguisher and it exploded, showering the area in the white foam. "Stay back!" he yelled again to his parents.

Carter shook his head. "You heard Nick," he reminded Troy. "The love of _family_ , remember?" Using the foam as a cover, he plowed into Orion, tackling him to the floor. He wrestled with the Silver Ranger, who struggled to wipe the foam from his visor. "You called me _Dad_ , do you remember that?" he grunted, then rolled as Orion shoved him off and away. But Troy was there before Orion could do anything, landing a solid kick to Orion's chest, then sweeping his leg down and knocking the spear from his hands. It went sliding across the floor.

"Orion!" Troy tried again. _I'm gonna have to hit him hard enough to knock him out of morph._ He looked around. _How-_

Above them, a shipping container was being held over the floor by a crane. "Dad!" Troy yelled, pointing.

Carter looked up, saw the container. Realization dawned. He turned to Dana. "Come on, Dana, give me a hand." He pulled her toward the cab of the crane, while Troy fought Orion into position below it.

"If you guys miss, you'll crush him," Dana warned as Carter thumbed the joystick.

"I'm _trying_ to miss," Carter replied. "Let me know when he's just beyond the drop zone."

"This is insane!" Dana covered her mouth with her hands. "You're both insane!"

"Sweetheart, if you've got any other ideas, I'm for them," Carter replied, taking his hand off the stick and hovering over the release toggle.

"Once you fall, the rest of your friends will too," Orion told Troy as he slammed the heel of his hand under Troy's chin. Troy staggered, but brought his foot back and around and hit Orion in the shoulder. Orion twisted and dropped, kicking Troy hard in the back of the knee. Troy dropped to one knee, and Orion plowed his foot into Troy's visor, knocking him to the ground. He planted the boot on Troy's chest and applied pressure. Troy reached for his foot, trying to throw him off.

"Do you give up?" Orion asked.

"Not on _you_!" Troy looked up, saw the container. "Dad! Drop it!" he yelled, flipping the black screen of his visor up. Above them, the container started getting bigger as Carter dropped it toward the floor. Troy grabbed Orion's foot and twisted, pulling them both out of the way as the container crashed. The resulting shockwave thundered through the warehouse, slamming them both into a four-story high wall of the same containers behind them. Troy felt his suit disappear and every bone in his body rattle. He groaned and glanced sideways.

Orion- _Orion_ , now, not the Silver Ranger-was lying next to him, out of morph. "Mom! Dad!" Troy yelled weakly, rolling over and crawling toward Orion.

Carter and Dana met him and Carter hefted Orion up and put his head in Dana's lap as she checked him over quickly. "The suit took most of it," she noted. She cradled him in her arms. "Come on, kiddo. Wake up."

* * *

It was Emma who felt the first rumble under her feet. The sand shifted under her boots and she struggled to stay upright. "What-"

"The drills!" Noah figured it out first. "They're _starting_!"


	55. Fire Within

Vrak laughed as he recovered from Nick's fiery attack. "Accept it, Rangers!" he gloated. "Your planet has zero chance of surviving!" He fired an attack of his own at the group, knocking both the teens and Nick and Madison to the sand. Waves picked up, crashing onto the sand, spraying the group with seafoam and water. "Man we could use a boost right now," Jake groaned as he climbed to his feet again. "I hope Troy's having better luck than we are!"

* * *

The Graysons sat quietly in the warehouse, feeling the vibrations under their feet. "The drills," Troy said. "The others-" His heart sank.

"It's not over yet," Dana promised him. She was holding Orion's hand, and his fingers were tightening around her own. Orion's head shifted in Dana's lap, and Troy was relieved to see his friend and brother's eyes flutter open, staring unfocused at the three of them. "Orion!" Troy said, letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Hi, son," Carter said with a choked laugh. "Welcome back to the land of the living." He gripped Orion's shoulder, white-knuckled, as the Andresian tried to sit up. Dana eased him up, keeping her arms wrapped tightly around his chest.

"You….you brought me back," Orion stammered, closing his eyes and opening them slowly again. "I-I felt my mind slipping away but…you…I heard you." He looked at Carter. "Dad." His eyes drifted to Dana and Troy. "And my mother…and brother. It was clear as day, even through Vrak's control…"

"Well," Troy said, looking at his parents, and at his adopted brother, "family is stronger than any mind control," he repeated Nick's advice.

"I wanted to fight you but…your voices…I couldn't do it…" Orion looked at them. "I'm so sorry, Troy."

"Don't be," Troy assured him. "Orion, after everything you've been through, you're like, the strongest person I know. If anybody was going to beat Vrak in a head game, it was gonna be you."

His pocket felt warm, and he frowned as he slipped his hand inside, pulling out his morpher and his ranger key. The gray stony exterior was glowing golden, and shattered, revealing his key. His eyes widened. "My key!"

"When Orion broke the mind control, it must've broken whatever corruption Vrak did to the Morphin' Grid," Dana said with a smile. She looked at her sons. "I'm so proud of my boys."

Orion looked at Troy. "Go," he said quietly. He closed his eyes and smiled to himself. "I'm in good hands here…just not really up to a fight right now."

Troy gripped his key. "Luckily-or unluckily for Vrak- I _definitely_ am. See you soon," he promised. The ground rumbled under his feet again as he sprinted outside and disappeared in a burst of light, headed for the beach.

He materialized next to Jake and grabbed the Green Ranger's shoulder to stay upright. "Troy!" Jake said, staggering to hold them both as the ground shifted beneath them again. "Orion, is he-"

"He's good!" Troy said. He looked over as the others came to stand by them. He glared at Vrak. "Let's end this," he growled.

Vrak scoffed. "It's already over, Red Ranger," he said.

Troy shook his head with a grin. "Yeah, about that." He looked at the others, then at Nick and Madison. "Let's show him a little magic trick, what do you say?"

The others reached into their belts, pulled out their Ranger keys…colored again, and ready to go. "How?" Gia gaped.

"Orion's back, and it broke Vrak's hold on the Grid," Troy said. He pointed to Vrak. "Even when it's darkest, the fire inside us will burn bright." Troy put his key into his morpher and turned it. "Magical Source!"

The others turned their keys and echoed with him, "Mystic Force!"

* * *

Nick and Madison took cover by a large outcrop of rock to get away from the spray of the sea. When they looked back up, they saw themselves. Or rather, their suits. "Is that what they meant by not having their power up?" Madison asked. "They're…they're _us_!"

Nick grinned as they advanced. "Chip would _really_ be loving this," he echoed his wife from earlier.

"Xander would be making some kind of joke about how good the uniform looks," Madison added. She thought of something, brushing the sand away from her legs and pulling her wand from her pocket. She looked out to sea. "I wonder…one good wave…you think it could knock that thing loose?"

"Worth a shot," Nick told her. Madison waited for another tremor to pass, then ducked outside.

" _Galwit mysto undam_ ," she called out, aiming her wand out to the water. The water pulled back from the beach, heading the opposite direction. As the two of them watched, it started to build, tsunami-style. Soon, there was a wall of water headed for the drill. "Come on," Nick said, then, louder, "Come _on!"_

The wave slammed into the drill, almost as tall as it, and Madison saw it start to wobble. "That's it, Maddie!" Nick encouraged. "Hit it again!"

* * *

"You're too late, Rangers!" Vrak announced smugly. "Your world is starting to fall apart."

"Got news for you, Vrak," Troy shot back, and pointed out to sea, "so is your plan!" Everyone looked out to the sea to watch as another wall of water slammed into the drill, wave after wave after wave, until it finally teetered…and fell over. " _Yes!_ " Troy yelled, pumping a fist. As the drill toppled, the earthquakes rumbled, then stopped altogether.

" _No!"_ Vrak yelled furiously.

"That's for calling me a witch!" Madison informed him from their hiding spot.

Vrak roared again in anger and frustration. Before he could advance on the Rangers, Nick sent another wave of fire blasting toward him. Nick had always found his powers worked just a little bit better when he was in a heated mood, and today was a good catalyst. Vrak stumbled, dropped to his knees.

Troy looked at Nick through his visor. Nick shot him a thumbs up."Now it's your turn!"

Troy turned to the others. "Let's finish him off!"

"You got it," Gia said in the blue Mystic Force suit. "Magi Staff!" The others summoned their own.

"You've been messing with the elements with your drills, Vrak, and they're not too happy with you," Emma said, pointing her staff toward him.

"So they're gonna return the favor!" Jake promised him.

"All together!" Gia said, leveling hers forward. "As a _team_."

"Here's a pretty serious message for the Armada!" Noah added.

Troy looked down the length of the Red Magi Staff at Vrak. "Get the _hell_ out of Harwood."

Five elemental attacks roared toward Vrak. Fire combined with swirling water and crackling lightning, pushed forward by a burst of pink wind and snakelike vines twisted across the beach, enveloping Vrak in a swirl of elemental power. Troy could barely see him through it all, but he could definitely hear him screaming.

The screaming stopped. The elemental attacks faded away, and the beach was left in silence. Waves lapped the shore, and the Mystic Force suits disappeared from the five Megaforce rangers. Nick and Madison came out from behind their hiding spot and joined them, all eyes on the blackened beach where Vrak had once stood. The sand was had been superheated and cooled so fast, it was almost like glass.

"He's gone," Emma said breathlessly. "He's _gone_!" She crushed Troy in a hug.

Jake whooped, giving Noah a hard high five.

Nick and Madison hugged Gia enthusiastically. "Oh my gosh!" Gia said, seeing something past Nick and Madison's shoulders. "Guys!" she cheered. "Look!"

On the horizon back toward town, they watched as the rest of Vrak's drills disappeared. And another surprise was walking toward them…Orion, supported by Carter and Dana. There was a massive group hug there on the beach as everyone celebrated Vrak's demise.

* * *

The fire crackled in the fading sunlight as the group sat around the driftwood fire. Carter and Nick had had to go _way_ inland to find some dry enough to burn, but they'd reappeared with enough to make a massive bonfire. Carter promised if there was any repercussions from making the fire, he'd take it up with his boss the next day. With a little help from Nick, the bonfire was glowing brightly, illuminating the tired but happy faces of the Rangers, their family, and their Mystic Force friends.

"I can't believe it's over!" Jake leaned back and stretched, throwing an arm around Noah and one around Gia. "God this feels incredible!"

Emma glanced over, looked at Troy, who was staring intently into the orange embers in the bottom of the fire. "Troy?" she whispered under the celebrating. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I promise," he added, when Emma looked at him uncertainly. "I was thinking of Robo Knight," he said. "This one was personal in more ways than one," he said. "He gave his life to save our morphers, so we could finish off Vrak and the first wave the first time…and now we returned the favor."

"I think he'd be happy we finished off with attacks from the Earth, too," Emma said with a small smile. "We fulfilled his mission for him." She put her head on Troy's shoulder. "I like this," she said.

Troy smiled down at her. "What?"

She closed her eyes. "Your smile," she said. "We haven't seen much of it lately."

"You'll see more of it," he told her, and then realized that everyone around the fire was looking at him. "Vrak's gone. Hopefully the Armada takes a hint with both their princes gone and realizes it's not worth the fight anymore to take Earth." He looked over at Nick's dark eyes across the fire. "There's light at the end of the tunnel," he said, and Nick nodded knowingly.

Madison clapped her hands together. "All right, Rangers," she said, standing up and digging through her bag, producing her camera. "I need you six together over here," she said, waving to a spot where the fire illuminated the high cliff wall behind them. "Troy, you're too tall, so you gotta sit in the sand, there. Emma, you're next to him. Jake and…Gia, right? You're over here, and Noah and Orion, I want you guys on their other side."

She smiled and waited patiently for them to adjust. "I think I'll call this one…Fire Within," she decided. "Now, everyone smile!"

* * *

_High above the planet, the Armada flagship entered orbit, and there was one person who wasn't in as jovial a mood as the rangers. His sons were destroyed, and the Emperor of the Armada, Mavro, was livid. His viewing screen was focused in on the rangers celebrating on the beach._

_They wouldn't be celebrating long._


	56. Reality Check

"Troy!" Emma bounced up to her boyfriend after school let out one Tuesday after Vrak's defeat. Her hair was in a ponytail (something new, Troy had made sure to notice), and she was wearing a pair of pink skinny jeans and a white top (both new purchases, Gia had gone with her). The mood was a pretty jovial one since Vrak's defeat-nothing had happened for almost two weeks. Jake was convinced the Armada had packed it in.

Troy was just shutting his locker on his way to meet Orion at Ernie's. "Afternoon," he greeted her with a smile.

She thrust her cell phone at him. On the screen was a paused clip of an interview between a Mia Watanabe and a Antonio Garcia. Emma rewound the clip a few seconds, then hit play.

" _Where can we expect to see the Rebel Rockers next?"_ the interviewer was asking them.

Mia, the girl on the left with long dark hair, tucked a strand of it over her shoulder before replying. " _We're actually thinking of releasing the new single this Friday. We're playing a show at the Harwood County Amphitheatre that night."_

" _Aren't you worried about performing there? With everything that's been happening?"_

Mia and the guy, Antonio, exchanged a smirk. " _We've played some pretty interesting venues in the past,"_ Antonio said finally. " _I think we can handle whatever Harwood has to throw at us."_

Emma put her phone in her pocket and Troy shrugged. "What did I just watch?" he asked, confused.

"Troy! Their band is the Rebel Rockers!" When Troy didn't respond, Emma glanced around, then punched Troy in the arm. _Hard_. "Mia and Antonio…they're Samurai Rangers. They're going to be in Harwood!"

"Rebel Rockers," Troy thought out loud. "Oh! That's right, they were pretty popular last summer, they had some big hit out. I remember them now."

"Troy, they're an indie rock band that hit the top 20 on the Billboard chart two years ago. With their first single!" Emma shook her head. "You didn't get out much before being a Ranger, huh?"

"Uh, no," Troy agreed. "Not really my kind of music. But, if you want to go…"

Emma's smile widened and she threw her arms around him. "Yay! I was hoping you'd say that. Tickets go on sale this afternoon. I already talked to everybody else and they said if you can get them, they'd pay you back."

"Why me?" Troy asked, lost again.

Emma grinned. "Because you're the Red Ranger," she teased him. "You're in charge of making all the big decisions." She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "I've gotta go, Jake and Gia agreed to let me shoot some test shots of them for my final project this semester."

"Engagement photos?" Troy teased, and Emma rolled her eyes. "Kidding, I'm kidding. I'll see you guys later. Maybe we can meet at Ernie's or something. Orion's got the late shift tonight."

"Okay!" Emma said brightly. "I love you! Bye!" She skipped off down the hallway, and Troy stood frozen in front of his locker.

 _She_ what _now?!_

* * *

Troy met Orion on his lunch break at the mall and the two of them walked to the booth that had been set up near the fountains, where Rebel Rockers' music was blaring, and there was already a line halfway down the concourse for tickets. "I should've brought my food with me," Orion lamented as they joined the queue.

"I didn't think it'd be this busy," Troy said, looking over the heads in front of him. "If you want to go, you can."

"No, I'm good," Orion said. "Ernie's pretty flexible. I'm the only help he's got right now, so he's pretty accommodating." He studied the banner above the booth. "What's a Rebel Rocker?"

"That's the band name," Troy explained. "They're an indie rock band."

"You know, I worked in a rock quarry with different rocks," Orion said as they shuffled forward. "Limestone, quartz…all kinds, really. Never, ever found a rebel rock. Or an indie rock."

Troy glanced sideways at him. "Man, that was terrible."

Orion grinned. "Hey, I thought it was funny." The two of them waited a few more minutes, observing the crowd, listening to the music. "Hey, what do you think will happen," Orion asked suddenly. "Now that…" He lowered his voice. "Now that the Armada doesn't have any leaders."

"How do we know they _don't?_ " Troy countered. "Maybe they're sitting above us right now, waiting for new orders."

"Yeah but…what if there isn't anybody to _give_ new orders?" Orion wondered.

Troy ran a hand through his hair. "We'll just have to wait and see."

"You seem a little off today," Orion noted as the line moved again. "Bad day at school, or what?"

Troy didn't hear him or answer right away, proving Orion's point. "Hey," Orion said, poking his Earth brother again. This time, Troy blinked.

"Sorry. Uh, no. Not a bad day. Just…" He trailed off.

"You're killing me," Orion sighed. "What's up?"

Troy glanced around, half-hoping the Armada _would_ attack. When no such luck happened, he said, "I'm pretty sure Emma told me she loved me today."

"Say _what_ now?" Orion's jaw dropped.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I said," Troy replied. "I told her I'd get tickets for everybody for this concert, and she was like, "I love you!"

"So like… 'I love you' as in…" Orion made a swooning gesture, "or 'I love you' as in, oh yay, you're amazing?"

"The last one, I think," Troy said. "Man, I don't know. It's confusing. You and Noah are honestly lucky you're single. You don't have to think about stuff like this."

Orion snorted. "Yeah, lucky us." He checked his watch. "I'm gonna have to get back to work." He bit his lip, a habit he'd picked up from Dana. "You could always ask Jake," he said. "Or Gia. They might know which way Emma meant it."

"Or they'll think I'm a complete dork for asking," Troy sighed. "I think I'll just ask Emma later."

Just then, an announcement came over the loudspeakers at the mall. " _For you safety, please stay indoors. Monsters have been sighted in the streets."_

People scattered from the line in panic. Troy heard his morpher chime. He looked at Orion. "You're good," Orion said. "You guys can handle it."

Troy shoved a wad of cash at him. "Hey! Before you go-six tickets!" He left Orion standing in the middle of the mal with the money as he ran for the nearest exit.

Orion blinked, then turned to see that there was no one in line at the booth anymore. He shrugged and walked up to the counter. "Six tickets for the concert, please," he said politely.

* * *

Troy snuck out a door marked Deliveries Only and joined up with Noah, Jake, Emma and Gia as they teleported into the alley. The five of them morphed and ran out together to see a squad of X-Borgs coming toward them through the late afternoon traffic.

"Piece of cake," Jake snorted, drawing his sabre. "Come on, guys, we can beat these guys in our sleep!" He attacked the nearest one, kicking it with such force that it hit the hood of a car and bounced over, to the driver's shock. Then, Jake followed it up and over with a front flip and landed on the shoulders of another one.

Noah turned to Troy. "What did he have for breakfast this morning? Jet fuel?"

Troy shrugged, watching the spectacle. "No idea," he said, then followed Jake into battle, using his blaster to blow and X-Borg to the sidewalk.

Gia was watching Jake scramble up a ladder that a crew was using to put up new lighting in the theatre across the street. "If you get hurt…" she warned him.

Two X-Borgs grabbed Jake's feet and yanked him off the ladder. He landed on his back in the middle of the street. "Jake!" Gia yelled at him.

"I'm okay!" Jake promised her. "I'm just trying to keep things interesting!"

Emma ran past the two of them, grabbed a light pole and swung back to knock an X-Borg into a parking meter. "We're trying to keep things _safe_!" she reminded him.

Troy clocked an X-Borg over the head with his blaster, then tornado kicked it into a newspaper bin. The rest of them had decided they'd had enough and retreated, disappearing into the sky. The rangers teleported away too, reappearing out on the docks near the shipping yards, not far from where Troy had taken on Orion.

"Jake, what was that all about?" Gia shoved her boyfriend with two hands as her suit faded away.

Jake took a step back as his green suit disappeared. "Hey, take it easy. Don't you realize? This is the end. No more princes!"

"Well, I'm glad you're all happy and stuff," Gia replied, "but how about a little less hot dogging next time?"

"There won't _be_ a next time!" Jake declared. "The Armada has to have only soldiers left now. Otherwise, they'd have sent someone bigger with them." He spread his arms and spun around. "This is the beginning of the end!"

Noah looked over at Troy, who looked pensive. "What do you think?" he asked him.

Troy looked at his team. "I hope he's right," he admitted finally. "I hope that was the last we'll ever see of the Armada."

He wished he believed it.

"Hey, how about piggy back race to fro-yo?" Emma asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"What? That's like, six miles from here!" Noah did the math.

"Shouldn't have teleported all the way out here then!" Emma said, hopping on his back. Noah grunted under the weight.

Gia hopped on Jake's back. "Giddy up!" she teased him. She looked back at Troy. "You coming?"

"We could always call Orion," Jake grinned as he hefted Gia higher on his back.

"Uh, no," Troy said. Then, he grinned. "Last one there buys!" He took off at a spring, already faster than the four of them with no extra weight to carry. He had just turned a corner when a barrage of laser fire staggered him back, and he landed hard on the cement.

Behind him, he felt the others skid to a stop. Emma ran to help him up.

"Orion!" he heard Gia yell into her morpher. "Docks. Now!"

The figure facing them was tall, at least seven feet. He had a dark black cape and a copper-colored body. His eyes glowed gold, and to Troy, he looked like a walking suit of armor.

"You just _had_ to say it," Noah muttered to Jake.

"New leader?" Gia whispered to Troy.

"Could be," Troy decided. "Maybe the X-Borgs were just to unsettle us, and this guy's the end game."

"How about we shoot first, ask questions later?" Noah suggested.

"Works for me," Troy said. His suit appeared along with the others and they drew their blasters, firing as one. To his surprise, the warrior parried the blow away, exploding a dock crane that was situated nearby. Metal and sparks dropped to the cement behind them.

* * *

"Looks like everything is up to code here," Carter Grayson shook the shipping company manager's hand and tucked his pen into his polo pocket. "I'll have your updated certifications in the mail tomorrow morning for you."

"I appreciate it," the man replied. "Thanks for all your help today."

"Have a good night," Carter gave him a wave before climbing into his truck. It'd been a pretty uneventful day. Dana was home, off for the night, and he was almost ready to be as well. He was just going to have to swing by the station and clock out. Orion had to work late, but Troy would be home from school by now. "Pizza night," Carter decided, pulling out his cell phone to call their usual place. Before he could, there was a crash of metal off to his right. He hit the brakes so hard he was surprised the air bag didn't deploy.

"That can't be good." He got out of the truck, making his way toward the commotion.

* * *

Damaras fired at the rangers, a giant blast that sent them all reeling. Troy landed on his stomach and rolled painfully to his elbows. Gia and Emma tried to tag team, driving forward with their blasters, but Damaras knocked them both to the side. Gia hit a building support and Emma a cargo door. Both landed hard.

"Emma!" Troy cried out. He turned to Damaras with fury in his eyes. He charged at him, sabre drawn, but Damaras parried him away _with his hand_ and sent Troy into the side of a Dumpster.

"I expected more from you," Damaras said calmly.

"Here's something you're not expecting!" Orion appeared in a burst of silver, already morphed, Silver Spear lowered like a jousting pole. He stuck the end in the ground and vaulted toward Damaras, but Damaras knocked him away and he rolled back to join the others.

"I'll crush you _all_ ," Damaras said, pointing at each of them in turn.

Orion got his first good look at who they were facing. As Troy and the others came up to join him, unmorphed, Orion's suit disappeared and Troy saw sheer _terror_ in his brother's eyes.

"Orion?" he gasped. "What-?"

"That's _Damaras_." Orion said the name almost reverently. "H-he's the most powerful warrior in the _universe_."

"The say what now?" the color drained from Jake's face, all cockiness gone. Reality had just set in.

"The universe?" Gia repeated.

"He was _there_ ," Orion breathed. "On Andresia. He wiped out my village's entire security force by _himself_."

"And I'll do the same today," Damaras informed them. "Your time on this earth is _up_."

"In your dreams!" Gia seethed, and Emma had to put a hand on her friends' shoulder to keep her from charging forward.

"What do we do?" Noah asked Troy. Troy was already unsettled by Orion's reaction; he didn't respond right away.

Damaras took advantage of their indecision. He fired first. The blow knocked them _all_ aside, scattering them across the area. Troy was thrown into a tractor trailer that was parked for the night. He hit the side of it and dropped, _hard_. His vision went black, and he fought to stay conscious. Through blurry eyes, he looked for the others. Jake hadn't been thrown as far as the others. He was staggering to his feet. Troy couldn't see Gia, Noah, Emma or Orion. It scared him.

"There's no escape," Damaras told him. "Only obliteration." He was walking toward Troy, had produced some kind of blaster from somewhere.

He leveled it toward Troy.

Jake Holling couldn't see the others. He didn't see where they'd landed after the blast. His vision was swimming. Ahead of him, all he could see was Troy struggling to rise next to the wheel of a semi, and Damaras with a leveled blaster.

He was the only one standing. He had to do something.

Suddenly, he wished it had only been the X-Borgs. And he wished he hadn't been quite so cocky earlier.

He shook his head, trying to clear his spotty vision. Then, he ran forward. "Back off!" he yelled at Damaras, trying to take him on unmorphed. Damaras withdrew his attention from Troy long enough to swat Jake aside. "Get out of my way." Damaras growled.

Jake hit hard and his eyes fluttered closed. If he'd stayed conscious a bit longer, he'd have realized that he'd given Troy just enough time to put together a plan. A _lousy_ plan, but it was all he had.

Damaras looked at the two rangers. "Pathetic." He returned his attention to Troy, who had raised himself to his knees. "Red Ranger. You will pay _dearly_ for the destruction of Prince Vekar and Prince Vrak."

 _A little closer_ …Troy played limp until Damaras was almost on top of him, then, he pulled his morpher from beside him. "It's-"

He never even got the sentence out. Damaras fired at the ground in front of him. The shockwave threw him backward at the truck. His head slammed into the hubcap of the wheel. Troy dropped like a sack of potatoes, his morpher clattering away under the truck. The last thing he remembered seeing was Damaras' boots and then, metal met face, sending Troy into oblivion.

Jake's eyes snapped open just in time to see Damaras' boot meet Troy's chin. " _No!"_ he cried out, climbing painfully to his feet. Troy was unconscious and bleeding on the ground and now...Damaras was hefting him over one shoulder? _What the-_

"Perhaps you are more useful to me alive," Damaras was saying to the unconscious leader of the Rangers. He started walking away.

Jake took off after him, limping. "Damaras! Let him go! Troy!" His foot gave out and he dropped to the cement as Damaras disappeared.

Before he lost consciousness, he thought he heard someone yelling his name.

* * *

The scene before Carter was…quiet. Eerily so. He'd come out between two buildings in time to hear…nothing. Battle sounds had raged as he'd made his way through the confusing maze of shipping containers and warehouses, but now…

Then he spotted Jake Holling, lying on his stomach, arm outstretched ahead of him like he was reaching for something. "Jake!" He picked his way around some fallen barrels and debris. "Jake!" He dropped to his knees next to the unconscious teenager, feeling for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there.

Carter yanked his phone from his jeans pocket and dialed home. "Dana. Dana, it's me. How fast can you get down to the docks?"

" _What's going on_?" He could tell his wife was trying not to let panic set in, but her husband's tone wasn't making that easy.

Carter searched for a landmark. "There's a broken crane that's still smoldering near me," he said. "Get here. I need you."

" _It's the kids, isn't it?"_ Dana was fighting for calm.

Carter glanced around. Jake was the only one he could see right now. "Yeah," he said. Telling her he was only one for six wouldn't help her. "Just please, Dana. Get here soon."

He hung up as Jake's hand tried to grab the cement for purchase. "Don't move, Jake," Carter told him. "Just sit tight."

"Th-the others," Jake mumbled. "I have to-"

"Don't _move_ ," Carter ordered him. "Besides broken bones, you could have a concussion. Stay here and keep your eyes open. I'll find them." _I hope._ He got up and looked around. There was blood and a morpher over by a semi trailer. He pocketed the morpher, his heart beating faster every second.

Coming around behind a forklift, he found the others. Gia, Emma, Noah, and, _oh God_ , _Orion_ , were all lying unconscious on the ground. Whatever the hell had happened here, it was huge.

Then he did a head count and realized... "Troy?" he called out. His voice sounded hollow and echoed in the quiet. " _Troy!"_


	57. Reality Bites

Forcing himself to stay calm, remembering that right now, there were five teenagers who needed his help, Carter blinked rapidly trying to curb the tears of worry that were threatening to fall. He knew that Dana was coming, and he'd feel better with her there, but right now, he was on his own.

He checked the four kids on the ground. Everyone was breathing, and apart from bruises and bumps, it looked like they were well for the most part. He couldn't see any outward signs of any broken bones. He turned and jogged back to where Jake was ignoring orders and had sat up as far as his knees, staring in the direction Carter had come from.

"What the hell happened?" Carter demanded. "Jake- _where_ is my son?"

Jake tried to rise to his feet, but Carter's hands on his shoulders stopped him from getting far. "That _thing_ took him," he choked out. Carter's heart sank. Troy _wasn't_ here. Something had him. If it was the something that did all this…"I gotta go get him," Jake was saying. "I-I-ow-need to find him."

"You need to go get checked out," Carter argued. "You're not going anywhere." The young man glared at him. Carter met his eyes. "Jake, you're in no condition to do anything, and neither are they." He pointed at Jake's teammates. "Dana is coming. We'll do what we can. You guys have a command center or a base?"

Jake nodded. "It's, um, in a cave out on the Point."

"Original," Carter sighed. He pulled out his phone. Jake watched him dial. "Ray, it's Carter. I've got a family emergency. I won't be in tomorrow." _Please God, don't let this go longer than tomorrow._ He would've preferred it if they could find Troy _tonight_ , but it was getting dark. "We'll take you guys there, get you checked out. You can't go to the hospital without them asking too many questions." He ran a hand through his hair. _Troy. I need to find my son_. "Jake, are you up to talking? Can you tell me what happened?"

Jake recounted the battle with Damaras. "Orion said he wiped out a police force by himself back on Andresia. He's got Troy. Something about…" He closed his eyes, and Carter shook his shoulder.

"Nope. Stay awake, Jake. Something about…what?"

"He said Troy would be more useful to him alive. Then he picked him up and…and then he was gone."

"Did he walk away, or-or fly, or…" Carter pressed.

"Teleport," Jake said quietly.

_Teleport. Troy and Damaras could be anywhere on the planet…or not on the planet._

Carter heard squealing tires and saw headlights fill the area as Dana pulled in with their car. She hit the hazards and sprinted out to join Carter. "Carter! Oh, God." She ran up to the two of them. "What happened?" she asked.

"Something big," Carter said. "I'm going to get Jake in the truck and we're driving up to The Point. You need to help me with the others, they're too far away and still unconscious. They're over there."

"Where's Troy?" Dana demanded. "And Orion?"

Carter grimaced, knowing what was coming next. "Orion's with the girls and Noah. There," he pointed. "Dana…Troy is gone."

" _Gone_? What do you mean, 'gone'?" she gasped, looking around, as if Carter was messing with her.

Carter reached out a hand and grabbed her arm. "Gone, as in the guy they were fighting took him. He's not here, Day, I checked." He realized the morpher he had must have been his son's, and it felt heavy in his pocket. "We'll find him, I swear. But we need to help his team first." He looked at Dana. Her blue eyes were tearing up. "Dana. We have one son here. Let's help him first. Troy's strong. He'll be all right until we can find him."

Carter saw the mask slide over her features. Dr. Dana Grayson-Mitchell had arrived. "Be careful when you move him," she told her husband. "His eyes aren't looking so good. I'm betting at least a minor concussion." She pulled a penlight from her jeans pocket and went over to look at the others.

Carter gingerly helped Jake to his feet. "Come on, kiddo. Let's get you someplace safe."

* * *

The opening to the base was pretty easy to find. The headlights from the two vehicles illuminated a wide rock wall in a copse of trees. "Has to be it," Dana said as she tapped on his window. "Nothing else around here screams 'secret lair' to me."

Carter put the truck in park and looked back at Orion and Noah in the back seat. Both were still unconscious. Jake was the only one even remotely awake. He got out and followed Dana up to the rock wall. Carter ran his hands over it, searching for the entrance. "Gotta be some way to open it," he muttered. Then, he spotted it. A very small indent in the rock, just wide enough for a hand to slide through. "Dana!" he yelled. She stepped over to him. He pointed. "I'm thinking that's it. My hand is probably too big but yours…" He smiled. "Those doctor's hands are gonna come in handy. I'll go get the kids."

"Will it open for us?" Dana wondered, turning her hand sideways to slide it in.

"Let's hope so," Carter called back to her from the truck.

Dana paused, then, slipped her hand into the crevice. She felt a hum and a buzz. The same buzz she remembered getting when she morphed, from the Power.

 _Palm print identified_ , a computerized voice announced. _Lightspeed Rescue Pink Ranger._

Dana raised an eyebrow. "Okay then. The rock knows who I am." The rock slid back, revealing a long tunnel. "Carter, we're in!" Carter appeared behind her, cradling Emma in his arms. The dark-haired ranger was still out of it. Carter carried her down the tunnel, hoping there would be something at the end.

"Oh no!" A little voice chirped, making Carter jerk. He nearly dropped Emma. "Are they all right?" the voice asked. Carter looked down to see a little robot on the cave floor. Four mechanical eyes blinked up at him.

"I…um..We need to get them help," Carter told the robot, not sure what else to do. "And we can't take them to the hospital."

"You're Troy's dad," the robot realized. "You're the Lightspeed Rescue Red Ranger!"

"You're right," Carter agreed. "Do you have a place for them?" _I'm talking to a robot. And yet…not the strangest thing that's ever happened in my life._

"This way!" The robot sped down the corridor. Carter jogged to keep up. Ahead of them, the cavern opened up, and Carter's jaw dropped as he stepped into the room. Stars twinkled through a natural opening in the cave above his head. Soft light filled the room from five illuminated panels-red, yellow, green, pink and blue. On the wall, a dark shape was hanging by the opening, but Carter couldn't make out its' features. "Whoa."

"There's cots over here," the robot said, using a clawed hand to point. Carter set Emma down gently against the wall. He popped the folded cot open and set her gently on it. Dana appeared, supporting Gia with an arm over her shoulder. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the light of the bigger room. "Whoa," she whispered, looking around.

Despite it all, Carter gave her a small smile. "Here, Day, there's cots over here." Dana helped Gia sit down, then swing her legs onto the cot. As Dana tended to the girls, Carter went back for the boys. About fifteen minutes later, they had Noah, Jake and Orion settled. Dana checked their vitals. "They're okay," she reported. "Just out of it." She looked at Carter. "Will Troy be okay?" she whispered.

"Yes," Carter said firmly. "I promise you, we will find him." He turned to the little robot. "What's your name, fella?" he asked it, kneeling down so he was almost eye level.

"Tensou," the robot chirped.

"Keep an eye on the kids," Dana told Tensou. "Nothing is broken, no internal bleeding or concussion. They just need rest." She looked at Carter. "I think it's time we called in reinforcements. This is bigger than the kids."

He nodded. "I agree with you, but right now, we need to worry about finding Troy."

Just then, green light filled the cave. Carter got up slowly from his spot by Tensou and looked around the room. "Dana," he said slowly. "Take a look at this," he said.

Dana followed his gaze to the walls of the room. "Oh," she said, realizing what she was seeing. "It's _us_!"

" _All_ of us," Carter said. He pointed to where the little statues of the original Earth rangers, Jason Scott and his team, stood, to right in front of him, where the six Lightspeed Rangers stared back at him. Across the room, he saw figures in Wes Collins' Time Force motif, and Leo's Lost Galaxy team. He reached out a hand and cautiously poked his own red-and-white swirled figure. He picked it up and turned it around.

"It's a key," Dana realized, pointing to the grooved bottom. "This is how they're accessing our powers."

"A lot of good it's doing them now," Carter ground out, looking at the teenagers, unconscious on the beds behind them. Even Jake was sleeping now. Something caught his eye, and he looked up to see the darkened figure on the wall glowing in the dim light of the command center. Two green slits and an orange mouth. He remembered Jake telling them once that their mentor was a talking tiki head. Supposedly a protégé of Zordon, the Eltarian who had started it all. Angrily, he rounded on the tiki head on the wall. "Hey! Wake up!" he yelled at it. "You're supposed to be their mentor. A _hell_ of a lot of good you're doing right now."

"Carter," Dana said cautiously, but Carter ignored her.

"How about you give these kids the help they need?" Carter demanded. "Those aliens have my _son_!"

The tiki head remained silent. Carter's fist met the wall of the cave with a frustrated, desperate yell.

* * *

Troy awoke lying on something cold. _What the hell happened?_ he wondered. He became acutely aware of pain. His whole body hurt. Suddenly, it came rushing back to him. Getting blasted into…something. Damaras. _Oh._ He tried to move, but he couldn't feel his fingers. There was a biting sensation on his wrists, and he realized they were tied together. _Uh oh._ His eyes were wide open, but all he saw was black. _Okay. Let's assess the situation here. I'm tied up and blindfolded. Please let it be blindfolded and not actually blind..._ His head was killing him, and he could taste the coppery sensation of blood in his mouth. He slowly ran his tongue over his teeth, checking to see if they were all there.

Voices filtered into his head. He froze, hoping to make them think he was still unconscious. "I have brought you the red ranger," Damaras was telling someone. "I thought you might like to decide his punishment."

A gravelly voice replied, "Well done, Damaras. Your failure to keep my sons alive cannot be forgiven, but perhaps you've finally done something _right_."

 _Sons?_ Troy's mind was working overtime. _The Armada has….what, a king?_ _So much for thinking the Armada had no leader._

"So. This is the famous Red Ranger." The king, or whatever, sounded amused. "Seems hard to believe. You may as well wake up, Red Ranger. Bioscan tells us that your heart is beating faster than a normal human's output. We know you're listening."

 _So much for gathering intel._ "Where am I?" Troy demanded. His voice echoed around him. _Cold. Damaras brought me….brought me where?_ He hated feeling so helpless and out of control of the situation.

"Welcome to my ship, Red Ranger of Earth!" the gravelly voice boomed. "I am Emperor Mavro."

 _Emperor? Ship?_ _I'm on the Emperor's ship!_ Troy's heart stopped. He wasn't even on the _planet_ anymore. _Are the others okay?_ He remembered Jake, fighting Damaras, unmorphed. _Is he even still alive?_

More importantly…. _how the hell am I going to get out of this?_

"Shall we destroy him?" That was Damaras, sounding impatient, like he didn't care for the Emperor's formalities.

"It doesn't matter what you do to me," Troy heard himself say. "Earth will never stop fighting. My team will never stop fighting."

"Your team is destroyed," Damaras informed him. "I saw to their destruction myself."

"Liar!" Troy exploded, struggling to stand. _It couldn't be true. Could it?_ Suddenly, Troy felt more alone than he had in his entire life. _No, it's not true. Can't be. "_ I don't believe you!"

Mavro chuckled, a sound Troy would just as soon forget. "You murdered my sons, Red Ranger. It's fitting then, that Damaras returned the favor." Troy heard the ping of metal and a woosh of a cape as Mavro stepped down to come stand near him. "You're quite the hero on earth," Mavro hissed in his ear. "I wonder if your people would give up your planet to save you?"

Troy craned his head to where Mavro's voice was coming for, hoping he was right in his face. "Never," Troy promised, in what he hoped was a confident-sounding voice. Confidence he didn't feel.

Mavro laughed. "Take him back to Earth. Put him on display. We'll show the earthlings that _we_ are in control. A public execution of the leader of their heroes. How does the old Earth saying go? Cut the head off the snake and the body will die?"

He got right in Troy's ear. "Let's test that theory." Troy couldn't help it, he flinched away, and Mavro chuckled again.

Strong hands gripped Troy's arm and yanked him roughly to his feet. He felt himself being pulled away, and he scrambled to find purchase with his sneakers on the smooth floor. He wasn't going _anywhere_ with these guys, not if he could help it.

"It's pointless to struggle, Red Ranger. You'll only be delaying the inevitable," Damaras informed him. He kicked him in the back of the knee, and Troy fell, landing hard on his side, unable to stop himself from falling with his hands tied behind him. His head hit the floor, hard. He saw pinpricks of white light in the darkness of the blindfold.

"Damaras. Do you have his morpher?" Mavro asked his warrior general.

"My Lord?" Damaras queried. On the floor, Troy barely heard the conversation.

"Let the people of earth see their heroes are only human. Put him in his suit but remove his helmet. Let them see the _boy_ who is supposed to save them from my wrath."

"My Lord, his morpher is on the planet. Shall I-"

"Use the machine," Mavro cut him off. "It can create the suit."

"Yes, my Lord." Troy felt Damaras grab his arm again. "You'll enjoy the machine, Ranger," Damaras said, almost sounding excited. "In fact I think you'll be quite impressed at its capabilities…if you survive that long."

Troy turned pale under the blindfold, but hoped that Damaras couldn't see that. _Stay strong_ , he heard his mother's voice whisper to him. "This isn't over!" he yelled bravely to Mavro. "I'll come back for _you_!"

The sounds of Mavro's laugh was the last thing he heard as he was pulled through a door. Then, all sound vanished.

* * *

Dana was busily tending to Carter's knuckles when Jake came into the room with a twelve pack of water. The teen would not sit still, and seemed to be recovering better than his teammates. He'd woken up a few hours ago and despite a certified doctor telling him to stay put, he just couldn't. Carter had threatened to tie him to the bed, and Jake's response was. "You'd have to catch me first."

He set the water down and inspected his friends. "Any change?" he asked Dana.

"Still unconscious," she told him. "But _alive_ , Jake. Just remember that."

"Yeah…." Jake said miserably. He looked at the Graysons. "Any word on Troy?"

She shook her head. "No. Nothing. He's still missing."

Jake pressed his back to the wall of the command center and slid down, burying his face in his hands. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry. I tried, I swear."

Dana ripped off a piece of gauze and taped her husband's hand. Then she stood up and walked over to Jake, pulling him into her arms. "Troy will be all right," Dana said. She put a hand on his head. "Carter told me what happened. You did everything you could."

"It wasn't enough," Jake said hoarsely.

"D-don't say that," a voice said. Jake's head popped up at the sound of Gia's voice. Gia had rolled onto her side so she was facing him. She was still a little unfocused, but she was managing to hold Jake's gaze. "Jake, I didn't see it but…I know you. I _know_ you gave it your all."

Dana got up and tugged Carter from the room, giving the two of them space.

"I shouldn't have done all that goofing off," Jake said, coming to sit next to her. "I-I wasn't ready for Damaras. I thought he'd be easy, like all the others." He lowered his head to the cold cot. "Screwed up there," he whispered.

He felt a hand rest on his head, and looked up at Gia, who ran a hand through his hair. "You and the Graysons saved our lives," she reminded him. "You got us here."

Jake snorted. "Who have _you_ been talking to?" he joked quietly.

"Nobody," Gia replied. "I just know you. Your loyalty to this team was never in question." She gave him a small laugh. "Maybe just your methods. But under that free-wheeling, cocky guy, Jake…" She smiled at him. "There's a fighter. Don't give up now, not when you're the only one of us who can do something."

Jake was silent. Then on impulse, he leaned down and kissed Gia's forehead. "I won't. I swear."

Dana leaned into Carter's chest as Gia finished her pep talk for Jake. "These are good kids, Carter. How did they ever get caught up in a mess like this?"

"The same way we did," he replied softly. "Because they're good kids." He hugged her tightly and ran a hand through her hair. "I know it's getting late but, why don't you call your brother and your dad? Get them here, maybe they can help us look for Troy." He tilted her head up to face him. "I love you, Dana. Don't worry. Everything is going to work out."

"How do you know that?" Dana whispered.

Carter paused before answering. " I guess…I believe in good beating evil," he replied. "I believe in those kids. I believe in our _sons."_

Dana closed her eyes. "I do, too."


	58. A Samurai Surprise

"It is called the Replicator," Damaras explained to Troy. Once the blindfold had come off, Troy found himself standing in a gunmetal gray room. Along three of the walls were clear cylinders with white-lit floors. The other wall was a computer bank. Situated in the middle of the room was a single of the cylinders, laid out horizontal. It reminded Troy a bit of an MRI machine.

"Fascinating," he struggled to sound indifferent. "I bet it replicates."

Damaras's response was to grab him by the collar and slam him into the door behind them that had just closed. Troy's arms and hands took the impact and he grimaced as pain radiated up his arms.

"Careful, Damaras," a woman's voice said. "We want him looking good for all of Earth, now don't we." Another door had slid open somewhere and now, a woman with metallic green skin had entered.

"Levira," Damaras greeted her. "The Emperor has requested we give this….boy…his Ranger suit."

"What the Emperor wants," Levira agreed smoothly. Damaras wrestled Troy over to the cylinder in the center of the room. The glass top rose from the table, hovering just over the top of it. Troy fought Damaras as he realized he was going _in_ the cylinder, and panic filled his body. Painful flashbacks of being shoved into lockers and bathroom stalls in Mariner Bay filled his mind. He managed to get one solid kick in, but with Levira's help, Damaras picked him up and threw him on his stomach, knocking the breath out of him. Troy felt the restraints on his hands give and he tried to wrench his body around to take a swing at either of the two aliens, but Damaras placed one massive hand on the back of his head and shoved it against the flat surface. He flipped Troy over easily, placing two metal cuffs over his wrists and one across his upper chest, then secured Troy's ankles the same way. Effectively pinned in place, Troy could only struggle and gasp as the glass top floated down. There was a vaccum-sealed _hiss_ as it settled into place over him. From somewhere in the contraption, Troy heard Levira's voice.

"This is how we make our soldiers, Red Ranger of Earth." She was entering data into the interface as she spoke.

Troy wondered if there was air in the cylinder. He tried holding his breath, but he was steps closer to hyperventilating instead. _Calm down_ , Chad Lee's voice whispered in his mind. _Breathe_.

"We started with one, many, many years ago. He was a volunteer. We strove to make an army, to work our way across the galaxies, taking the resources of the planets we came across. He thought it was a noble goal." Troy heard a hum start to blend with Levira's voice, and felt the temperature rising in the tube.

"All the X-Borgs you see were once this volunteer. At first, it was a simple copy of himself. Well," Levira chuckled darkly, "not so simple. You see, the process is a bit…painful. We had to mold him, create him. Sometimes…sometimes we had to…erase…what we'd done, to try to improve the design."

The heat rose and Troy felt his neck and hands getting _very_ warm. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"Essentially, it is like a fire. The garments you are wearing will be stripped away. As soon as the garments you're wearing are gone…we can replicate your Ranger suit in their place."

Troy gasped for air. It was getting _hot_. Briefly, he wondered if this is what his father felt when he fought fires. If it was…he didn't envy his father his job at all.

"There _is_ a setting that _should_ only remove the fabric you're wearing," Levira explained. The 'should' got Troy's attention, and he looked up at Damaras in panic. "We've never tried it on human anatomy before," Damaras told him, his face filling the cylinder space above Troy's. "Let's hope it doesn't burn you to ash." He shook his head. "I would hate for it to be over so soon for you."

* * *

After awhile, Troy couldn't feel the heat anymore. He didn't know if that was good or bad. His whole body was on fire anyway, and his mind felt exhausted. The whole time as he screamed from the heat, Damaras kept telling him that he would be joining his team soon enough, that he couldn't die there. When the cylinder rose again and Damaras let him go, he could barely feel the replicated Ranger suit on his skin, it was so raw. His favorite leather jacket was gone, the jacket that had been his security blanket, as his parents had termed it, that had seen him through so much.

Worse than that…Damaras's words were sinking in. He'd tried _so_ hard not to listen, trying to focus on the pain rather than Damaras telling him that his friends were gone. That his planet would be conquered. That he was weak, and worthless, and soon, he would be joining his team, unless Mavro chose to keep him around to watch the entire takeover of Earth. He'd tried to keep repeating _I am not weak_ , like he had years ago with Sensei Lee, but...it was either focus on that or focus on the full-body burning sensation, and there was more of that.

The ranger suit was a shell. Troy didn't know if there was anything inside it for it to protect.

He was barely listening when Levira spoke. "Time for your dramatic exit, Red Ranger," Levira said from somewhere behind him. "I'll look forward to seeing you conquer his Earth, Damaras."

Damaras's voice was low. "As will I," he growled.

* * *

Emma Goodall's eyes snapped open and she shot up from her cot so fast the room spun. She looked around. Through the small natural opening in the command center walls, a few stars twinkled in a pink-orange sky. The room was lit only by the green lighting illuminating the Ranger figures on the walls. She looked around her. Gia, Noah, and Orion were sound asleep on the cots next to her. She didn't see Jake, but she did spot Dana Grayson resting against the walls.

"Hi Mrs. Grayson," Emma whispered, trying not to startle her. The woman's eyes blinked open, and she focused on Emma.

"Hi, sweetheart. How are you feeling?" She tried to sound chipper, but it had been a restless night. She had slept in fits, her mind wracked with worry for Troy, _especially_ Troy, and the others. Her body was sore and tired from sleeping against the cave wall. Carter and Jake had disappeared awhile ago, probably to go into town to look for Troy, to meet their family and friends who were on their way at, well, lightspeed, when they'd heard what had happened. _If Troy is even still in the city_ , the small voice in her mind reminded her. She shoved the thought away.

"Like I got hit by a train," Emma said, sitting up carefully. "Are the others-"

"They're fine," Dana told her, and Emma sighed, relieved. "Sleeping it off. You had a rough night." _An understatement._

"What time is it?"

Dana glanced at her watch. "About six a.m.," she said. "You've been out almost ten hours."

Emma looked around. Dana could see her making the mental headcount. "Where are Jake and Troy?" she asked.

"Jake is with my husband. They're…they're looking for Troy."

Emma frowned. "Why?" she whispered. "Where is he?"

Dana closed her eyes and gathered herself before answering."The alien that hurt the rest of you captured him. We don't know where he is for sure."

Emma slid off her cot and sank to the floor next to Dana. "I hope he's all right, wherever he is," she whispered. She grabbed Dana's hand and held onto it.

"Me too, Emma." Dana pulled the girl close so that Emma could rest her head on Dana's shoulder.

Footsteps echoed down the hall, and Jake and Carter came into the room. "Emma!" Jake said, relieved. "You're up!"

"Hi, Jake," Emma said tiredly. "Are you okay?"

He shrugged. "Been better."

"We've got something you should see," Carter said with a tired smile. He held out a hand and pulled Dana to her feet. "Is it safe to wake the kids?"

"Should be," Dana replied, gently shaking Orion's shoulder. The Andresian stirred, and opened one eye.

"Mom?" he asked, settling in on Dana's face. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Taking care of my kids," she replied, stroking his hair with her hand. "Come on, get up. Your dad has something for us. Something _good_ , I hope," she added, looking pointedly at her husband as he and Jake roused Gia and Noah.

"It's good," Jake said. " _Really_ good."

The five Megaforce rangers and the Graysons made their way to the entrance of the cave. Carter pointed down on to the beach once they were all out.

Standing on the beach below them were five people. In the sand between them and the command center was a glowing Japanese symbol in a rainbow of color. "I don't get it," Gia said. "Who-"

"Samurai," Noah whispered, and the others turned to him. "The Samurai Rangers…their Zords had Japanese kanji on them. And they draw kanji to morph. It has to be them."

Down on the beach, one of the strangers in a green hoodie yelled up at them, "Did that get your attention?" He was immediately shushed by a woman in yellow denim shorts.

Gia grinned. "Yeah, it did. Come on guys, let's get down there." She moved to start down the rocky path to the beach and stumbled. Jake caught her arm. "Easy there, tiger."

* * *

Carter, Jake, and Dana helped the other three down to the beach. Once they were all on the sand, the younger rangers made their way toward the newcomers while Carter and Dana hung back. Noah looked at the tall man in a gray t-shirt with red stripes on the sleeves. "You're Jayden," he realized. "You're the Red Samurai Ranger."

Jayden Shiba nodded to him. "This is Emily," he pointed to the blonde in a longsleeve yellow t-shirt, "Mike," in the green zip-up hoodie, "Kevin," the tall African-American boy in blue athletic shorts, "and my sister Lauren," another blonde in a red sweatshirt. "We were in town for Mia and Antonio's concert when we saw those guys-" he pointed to Carter and Jake- "asking questions around town about your missing Red Ranger," he explained.

"How did you know Troy was-" Jake began, but Lauren held up a hand.

"We eavesdrop well," Lauren said at Carter and Jake's confused looks. "Don't worry about it. We were rangers too. We can keep the secret."

"Do you know where Troy is?" Emma asked eagerly.

Emily shook her head and intertwined her fingers with Mike's. "No," she apologized. "And we didn't mean to mislead you that way," she added quickly when Emma's eyes started to water. Mike squeezed her hand and wrapped an arm around her. Sensitive Emily brushed away tears with her free hand. She hadn't meant to make Emma cry.

"What we meant is that we think we can help you against the aliens you're fighting," Lauren continued. "We were all in your shoes not long ago, and we know what you're up against." She turned to her brother and nodded.

Jayden reached into his back pocket and pulled out a white disc with black markings. He turned it over in his hands, then handed it to Noah. "This is the Samurai Double Disc," he explained. "Whatever weapon you want, it can create a second."

"Any weapon?" Noah asked, studying it closely. The kanji for _double_ caught the rising sunlight off the ocean.

"To an extent," Kevin told him. "It can't make another MegaZord, for example."

"But smaller things," Mike said. "Swords, blasters, anything with a handle you can put it on," he added with a grin.

"This was made by our father," Jayden said, looking over at Lauren. "It helped us defeat Master Xandred…so maybe it can help you too."

"As for your leader," Lauren continued, "the only help we can offer is to help you look. And prayers that he'll be all right."

"We'll take both," Emma said. She gave Emily and Lauren a grateful smile. "Thank you." She turned to Carter and Dana. "We could use a ride into town," she said.

"If you don't mind the back of the truck," Carter spoke up, shoving his hands in his pockets, "you guys are welcome to ride back with us," he told Jayden and the others.

Jayden glanced at Lauren. "Sure," he said. "I wouldn't say no to a fellow Red Ranger."

"Me either," Lauren replied. Her comment brought Carter up short.

"Wait…" He processed her comment as the Samurai and Megaforce teams walked past him. When it finally clicked, he turned and ran after them. " _You_ are a Red Ranger?"

* * *

The sun was just rising as Carter's truck pulled into downtown Harwood. "We can start fanning out here-" Noah began, his logical mind formulating a plan for searching, when a loud crackling sound echoed through the streets of downtown. Dana covered her ears and looked around, trying to locate the sound.

"There!" Orion pointed. High in the morning sky, a holographic viewscreen had appeared. Damaras's copper features filled the screen and Orion felt a sense of dread.

"Earthlings!" Damaras's voice thundered in the morning quiet. "Listen closely!"

"As if we have a choice?" Jayden whispered to Kevin.

"We have your Red Ranger."

The view shifted, and the group gave an audible gasp.

Troy was chained to what looked like an I-beam. He was blindfolded so most of his facial features were obscured. Dana couldn't tell if her son was alive. Her son, her normally talkative, active, moving, defiant son, was still.

_Please Troy, move. Something._

"You have _one hour_ to surrender your planet to the Armada," Damaras's voice continued. "Or your Red Ranger, your protector of Earth, is history!" The picture lingered for a moment longer, then vanished.

 _Not dead, then_ , Dana's medical mind whispered to her. _Unconscious_. _Alive_. She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as Orion and Carter both reached for her hands and squeezed them.

"How did he get his suit?" Carter wondered. He pulled Troy's morpher from his jeans pocket. "I've still got his morpher."

"We have to find him," Gia said.

"There was sky in the picture," Lauren noted.

"And they want everyone to see him," Jayden said thoughtfully.

"Definitely somewhere high," Noah agreed. "If I could've hacked the signal, I could've triangulated where it was coming from."

Kevin grinned. "I have an idea," he said, producing a small blue object from his shorts pocket. Drawing a quick symbol in the air, the blue object floated off his hand and in front of the group. "Dragon Folding Zord," he said with a grin. "Maybe it can find him." He looked at it and drew another symbol in the air. "Fly," he told it, and the blue origami dragon floated into the air above them going higher and higher until they lost it in the blue sky.

"Pocket-sized zords?" Noah wondered.

Jayden smiled. "Yeah, we've all got one." He produced a small metal container from his pocket and popped it open. A little red paper origami lion hopped out onto his palm and turned circles restlessly.

"Cool," Emma pronounced with her first real smile of the morning.

After what seemed like an eternity, the little blue dragon floated back down in front of Kevin, then started undulating toward the end of the street. "That way," Kevin said with a grin.

'That way' was soon a street crawling with X-Borgs. "What a way to start the day," Jake groaned.

"Jake and I will go find Troy. You guys can handle this, right?" Carter asked the group.

"Absolutely," Gia's voice was steel.

Carter clapped Jake on the shoulder, and the two of them took off at a run, eyes craned to the rooftops.

The others looked straight ahead at the incoming X-Borgs. "Been awhile," Mike noted, cracking his knuckles.

"Not _that_ long," Emily disagreed with a smile.

Jayden grinned. "Let's do this." He turned to Orion, Emma, Noah and Gia. "We'll follow your lead," he said with a grin.

Gia turned to the others. "Let's go Legendary." She grinned back at Jayden. "This one is for you guys." As their pirate suits appeared, she pulled a key from her belt. "Go go Samurai!" she called out, and turned the key.

Emily's jaw dropped. "That's _me!"_ she gasped. "She's _me_!"

Mike winked. "There'll never be another you, Em," he teased her, and then the X-Borgs were on them.


	59. The Show Must Go On

"There!" Jake skidded to a stop and pointed. "Figures. The tallest building in downtown."

"You in shape?" Carter asked as they burst through the doors on the bottom floor and ran for the stairs.

"I can keep up with you," Jake grinned, and followed Carter into the stairwell. The two of them ran up for what seemed like forever, finally reaching the rooftop access door. Carter carefully eased it open and Jake rolled forward behind an HVAC unit, eyes searching the roof. "Found him!" Jake whispered to Carter, who joined him, trying to conceal his big frame behind the box.

They could see Troy, well, the back of him anyway. Chains crisscrossed the I-beam he was standing in front of, securing him tightly to the beam. Damaras stood at attention, looking down at the fight, most likely. "Got a plan?" Carter whispered to Jake. Jake frowned and looked at him, confused. "Hey, kid, you've got the suit," Carter shrugged. "You could handle falling off a roof. Me, not so much."

Jake bit his lip, thinking. "How about I distract Damaras and you get Troy out of there?" he suggested. "I've got a score to settle with him." He morphed and handed Carter his blaster. "Know how to use one of these?"

Carter eyed Jake as he twirled the pistol like he was in a Clint Eastwood movie, then pointed it directly at Damaras. "Guess so," Jake said in awe.

"Hey, I may be old, but I can still pull it off," Carter told him. "You get one shot, and then he's coming after you."

Jake tensed. "I'm ready for him this time."

Carter brought the blaster pistol up and fired, the shot catching Damaras on the shoulder. The alien general roared and turned around. Carter ducked as Jake sprinted from behind the unit. "Hey! Over here, Tin Can!"

Damaras roared, infuriated that he'd been caught off guard. Satisfied that the Red Ranger wasn't going anywhere, he took off after Jake, who teleported away in the blink of an eye, down to where the others were fighting. Damaras followed in a burst of purple, leaving Carter alone with his son.

* * *

Troy had listened lifelessly to Damaras's speech. So, he was back on Earth. An Earth that would never surrender to save him. An Earth that, to be honest, he didn't really want to be on. Not if his friends were gone. Not if his family was soon to be destroyed.

Laser fire erupted to his left and he instinctively tried to move out of the way. "Hey! Over here, Tin Can!" someone yelled. The voice sounded like Jake but… _it couldn't be. Damaras said…_

"Hang on Troy," a voice said from somewhere near his feet.

" _Dad_?!" Troy closed his eyes behind the blindfold and gave a sigh of relief. He felt like crying. His family was _here,_ and that _must_ have been Jake he'd heard. He hoped. "Dad, is that you? Please tell me it's really you."

"Yeah. Hold still, son. Let's get you out of here." Carter aimed the blaster at the back of the girder. Too far left or right and he'd hit his son, though he was confident the suit could take it, he didn't want to risk it. He fired, and the chain snapped. _Yes!_ He took aim and fired again.

Troy felt the metal girder shudder, heard the ping of the chains snapping, and then he sagged forward. His hands free, Troy ripped off the blindfold. He looked up to see his Dad helping him stand. He threw his arms around him. "Dad! You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

"Not half as much as your mother will be," Carter laughed, pulling him tighter. "God, Troy, we were so worried about you. After we saw your friends-"

"Where are the others?" Troy interrupted. His voice caught. "D-Damaras told me, he said they were-"

Carter gritted his teeth. _That lying SOB_. He had a pretty good idea of what Damaras might've told his son. "The others were hurt pretty badly when Damaras attacked you at the shipyard," Carter explained. "We brought them to the command center, took care of them. They're fine. Everybody is fine." He frowned. "Troy, your so-called mentor kind of sucks at his job."

"We've noticed," Troy said, but he couldn't even let that get in the way of his mood. Jake, Gia, Noah, Emma and Orion, they were all alive!

"Are you feeling up to a fight? You've got some friends down there helping out, but this Damaras guy…if he could take out a full team of Rangers by himself, they might need all the help they can get," Carter told him. He reached into his back pocket and retrieved Troy's morpher. "Jake took off after Damaras."

"On his own?" Troy stood up sharply. "Where is he?"

Just then, the two of them heard a scream. Troy looked over the edge of the roof. He saw Jake on the ground, unmorphed, trying to block Damaras from a group of civilians. "No!" Without hesitating, Troy teleported from the top of the roof and landed between Jake and Damaras. Still missing his helmet, he spun with a roundhouse and gave Damaras a kick to the chest. Damaras wasn't expecting the move and went flying.

Troy looked down at Jake and offered him a hand up. "You all right?"

Jake winced. "Yeah." Then, he brightened. "God, it's good to see you, man. Seriously." He looked at his friend. "Someone's gonna need to explain how you managed to morph without your morpher."

Troy shuddered. "You don't want to know," he told him.

"Enough talk!" Damaras was advancing. "I'll destroy you!"

Jake and Troy instantly took defensive stances. "Let's make this count," Troy said.

"This ends _now_!" Damaras growled.

"Yeah, it does," Jake muttered.

"Troy!" a voice called from high above him. The voice belonged to his father, and he tossed something off the roof toward his son. Troy leapt up and caught it, his helmet appearing as he landed.

"Back in action," he grinned, tossing Jake a high five.

* * *

A few yards away, Dana was taking cover in a doorway. "Thank God," Dana whispered. "He's okay!" Tears welled in her eyes as Carter came out of the building, wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her, kissing the top of her head.

"Of course he is," Carter said, glancing over the top of his wife's head to his son. "That's our son."

* * *

Laser fire blasted Damaras and the X-Borgs. Jake looked at Troy. "Wasn't me," Troy said. He turned, and his heart stopped for a moment. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Yes!"

Orion, Emma, Gia and Noah stood across from them, their blasters aimed at Damaras. Troy was happy to see his team looked well and _alive_.

"We thought you could use a little help!" Noah grinned. Troy looked back to see a group of people fighting off the X-Borgs nearby, and handling themselves pretty well. "The Samurai Rangers!" he added, when Troy didn't say anything right away.

"Nice to finally meet you," Jayden Shiba yelled as he kicked aside an X-Borg. He grinned. "Well, sort of."

"Think you could use a few more?" _That_ voice belonged to Uncle Ryan Mitchell, who pulled up in a familiar yellow Humvee. The lights were flashing and the Lightspeed Rescue symbol was emblazoned on the hood in bright blue and gold.

"No way!" Carter laughed. "I love that Hummer." His family climbed out-Ryan and Kelsey, Chad, and Joel all came toward them.

"Nice timing!" Jake called to them. Gia flipped them a thumbs up.

"Help?" Damaras scoffed. "What a joke! All you rangers have done is served yourselves up to me on a silver platter!"

Troy looked at his teammates, all in Samurai uniform. "I see the theme of the day," he said. "All right then." He inserted his Ranger key into his morpher. "Go Go Samurai!" The red suit with the _fire_ kanji across the helmet appeared, and Troy stepped forward. He looked at his teammates; Jake in Green, Emma in Pink, Gia in Yellow, Noah in Blue, and Orion in the Gold of the Samurai's sixth ranger.

"Jayden gave us a little something," Noah said, holding the Double Disc out to Troy. Troy took it and studied it. "Any weapon we want, it can double."

"Really." Troy looked up at Damaras. The warrior stood alone as his X-Borgs tangled with the Lightspeed and Samurai rangers. "Let's see what two Super Mega Cannons will do." He called down the weapon and slid the disc onto the stock, giving it a spin. A moment later, a _second_ Super Mega Cannon appeared. "Jake, Emma, take this," Troy said, and they joined him on one. "Noah, Gia, Orion?"

"Ready when you are," Orion told him.

"You can't defeat me," Damaras told them.

Troy shook his head. "Watch us. You thought you'd defeated _me_ , remember?" he reminded him. "I'm still standing. My team is _alive_." He sighted down the barrel. "But you won't be." As Jake and Emma braced the weapon on their shoulders, Troy pulled the trigger. Next to him, he felt a rush of energy as Noah pulled the trigger on the second one, sending double the wave at Damaras. The warrior threw up his hands to block the incoming strike. The attack wavered on his arms….then it exploded. Troy shielded his eyes from the double burst of light and energy and when he brought them down…there was nothing where Damaras had once stood. Just a dark scorched circle on the pavement.

"He's gone!" Orion gasped. "We _got_ him!" The cannons disappeared and Troy caught the Double Disc before it fell to the ground, flipping it over in his hands as his suit faded away.

"Nice work," someone said behind them, and Troy and the others turned to see Jayden and his team standing behind them. "Mia and Antonio will be sorry they missed this," he added.

Troy held the Double Disc out to Jayden. "Thanks for this," he told the Samurai Red Ranger.

"You're welcome," Jayden replied. "You guys were pretty awesome."

"Yeah, it's no wonder you guys were chosen to be Rangers," Lauren agreed.

"Speaking of Mia and Antonio," Kevin spoke up quietly from behind them, tapping his watch. "We should probably get going."

"Yeah, I'm not going out looking like this," Mike agreed. He looked at the Megaforce team. "Are you guys coming to the show?"

"I-" Troy looked over at Orion, who winked and produced six tickets from his jacket pocket. He grinned as Emma squealed in excitement. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, we are."

"You scored Rebel Rockers tickets?" Gia's jaw dropped. "You're kidding!"

Troy pretended to be offended. "Well, if you don't want to go…" He went to give the tickets back to Orion. In one fluid motion, Gia nicked them from his hand.

Orion grinned as Gia passed them around.

Emma grabbed hers and practically hugged it. "And if I teleport home now, I'll have just enough time to shower and change!" She grinned and grabbed Gia's hand, pulling her away from the group.

"Guess I'm leaving!" Gia laughed. "See you guys there!"

"Thank you," Troy told Jayden, shaking his head at the girls' behavior. "For everything," he added.

"Anytime," Jayden promised. He held out a hand and Troy shook it. "See you tonight," he said.

The Samurai group headed in one direction as the Megaforce team went their separate ways, leaving Carter, Dana, and the Lightspeed group standing together in the middle of the street.

"Uh, okay then," Joel muttered. "Nice to see you guys too," he said a little louder. Kelsey laughed.

"Oh come on Joel, they're _teenagers_ ," Ryan teased him. "They've got their priorities," he said.

"Obviously different priorities than us old folks," Chad cut in with a shake of his head.

Carter and Dana looked at the group. "So…breakfast?" Dana suggested.

* * *

Troy and Orion stood outside the Amphitheatre waiting for the rest of the group to show up. After some much needed rest and time with their family, the two of them had driven down to city center to meet up with everyone for the concert.

"Damn, boys, you clean up all right," Mike Jackson teased them as he and Emily walked up together. Mike was in a green button down shirt and blue jeans with a gray fedora tilted over one eye. Emily had let her hair loose around her shoulders and wore a yellow crocheted top and a pair of short shorts. "It's gonna be a good time!"

Troy looked down at his red polo and jeans and grinned. "Nice to be in clothes I picked out," he muttered under his breath so only Orion could hear him. Orion snorted as he took his silver jacket off and slid it over one shoulder. "You guys look good too," he said aloud and Mike tipped his hat to him.

"Where's the rest of your group?" Emily asked.

Troy pointed. "Coming," he said. He grinned as Emma came up to him in a pink off the shoulder top and black skinny jeans. She'd braided her hair so it fell over one shoulder. Gia, like Emily, had let her hair down and was wearing a yellow tank and a short black skirt. Jake had on a longsleeve black t-shirt and jeans with a pair of sunglasses. Noah was wearing a blue polo and jeans. "Dressed to impress," Orion teased them.

"We'll see you inside!" Mike told them, leading Emily toward the entrance. Troy and the others queued up as well, passing their tickets off to the security at the door and finding their seats.

"This is so cool," Emma breathed. She looked at Troy as they sat down. "Hey, by the way, thank you, for getting those tickets for us."

"You're welcome," he replied, kissing the top of her forehead. "Hey, by the way…yesterday morning…"

"Oh." Emma blushed. "I didn't know if you remembered or not."

"Stuff like that you don't just forget, Emma," he told her. "Did you mean it?"

"Of course I did," Emma said. "I'm sorry it wasn't more elegant or anything. I was so excited and I _loved_ you for getting the tickets…but then I realized later that I meant it for more than that. I was hoping I'd get another chance to tell you."

Troy glanced around. Noah, Jake, Gia and Orion were all down the row from them, talking excitedly about the stage setup. "Now's a good time," he offered, and Emma laughed.

"I love you, Troy," Emma told him, turning to him and kissing him full on the lips.

The drummer counted off four beats and then the stage exploded in a flood of light and sound. Mia Watanabe, Samurai Pink Ranger, in a pink and white sequined top, black skirt and pink leggings, appeared onstage, clapping her hands to the beat and pumping up the crowd. Across from her, Antonio Garcia, Samurai Gold, had his long black hair tied back in a ponytail, and he was wearing a black button down that was only partway buttoned and acid-washed jeans as he riffed on his guitar.

Not that Emma or Troy noticed.


	60. Mobilizing

"That. Was. Amazing!" Emma gushed as the Megaforce team stood following the second encore of the Rebel Rockers. Troy would have agreed with her if he'd been able to hear what she'd said.

He felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to see Jayden and Lauren behind him. Jayden was wearing a red and white pinstrip shirt; his sister in a red halter top and blue jeans. "You guys wanna come say hi to Mia and Antonio?" he yelled in Troy's ear over the crowd noise.

"Yes!" Emma said instantly; Troy couldn't figure out _how_ she'd even heard it. He laughed and put an arm around her.

"I guess that's a yes," he told Jayden with a grin. The Samurai Rangers and the rest of the group made their way down to the front of the stage and then around to the back. Security let them past after a glance at Jayden's pass, and then they were in the quiet area behind the stage. Troy could almost hear again.

Lauren tapped on a door in the back marked Green Room and a voice from inside yelled back to come in. Lauren pushed the door open.

Mia Watanabe stood brushing her hair out while Antonio reclined on a couch, tossing popcorn into his mouth. Antonio dropped one at the sight of Jayden. "Dude! Come on in, _amigo_! Who're your friends?"

"Antonio, this is Troy and Emma, Jake and Gia, Noah and Orion."

"Nice to meet you," Mia said, dropping her brush on the table.

"Likewise!" Emma said happily. "You guys did an awesome show!"

"We should be thanking you," Antonio shrugged. "You guys paid the money to come see us. Thanks for funding us."

Jayden hit him in the shoulder and Antonio laughed. "So, Jayden tells me you had a pretty eventful day. Sorry we couldn't make it out to help you, but it sounds like you had more than enough help," he said, turning serious.

"No problem," Gia said. "We handled it."

"You guys have been 'handling it' pretty well," Mia said, reaching for a stack of something on the table. She handed one out to each of the Megaforce rangers. "Publicity shots," she said by way of explanation. "We autographed about 300 of them for the show tonight."

"Had a few leftovers," Jake noted, nodding to her hand.

Mia shrugged. "Yeah well, when you're playing in a town getting invaded by aliens left and right-"

"And said aliens tried to murder a Ranger on live TV," Antonio added with a nod at Troy. Troy shivered. Heat radiated up his body but he tried to ignore it. "Well, the turnout was a bit less than we expected," Antonio finished. "We're glad you're okay though," he told Troy. "Really."

"Thanks." Troy awkwardly flipped the band's publicity shot over in his hands.

"Sell them on eBay or something," Mia said, catching him fidgeting. "People will buy anything!" Her comment made him smile and she glanced over at Jayden, who nodded approvingly.

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Kevin stuck his head inside. "Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt but…you need to come step outside." The Blue Ranger's face was neutral, but there was an undercurrent of…something…in his voice.

Troy and Jayden exchanged a look before following the blue Samurai out into the hall and out a fire exit. Kevin's eyes craned upwards and Troy followed his gaze to see-

Blackness. The skies were black.

"There was supposed to be a full moon tonight," Emma said nervously.

"Guys!" The group turned to see Mike and Emily sprinting toward them. "It's all over the news. NASADA is reporting Armada ships entering the atmosphere. Thousands of them. The entire state of California is on threat level red," Emily explained.

"Emperor Mavro," Troy whispered, and Orion glanced at him.

"Who?"

"He's the leader of the Armada. Vekar and Vrak were his sons. That's why Damaras took me, the Emperor wanted a public execution of the guy that killed his sons." Mavro's gravelly voice entered unbidden into Troy's mind and he shoved it away.

"This is it," Noah realized somberly. "This is the final wave. Everything at once. Maybe not like before, at Christmas, but-"

"Nowhere close," Jake said. "That was maybe thousands of ships. This-" he waved his hand in the air- "this has got to be _millions_."

Troy looked at Jayden, who exchanged a look with his Samurai teammates. Then, he and Lauren turned to Jake.

"We're staying," Lauren said. "We're going to help you."

"Do you have your morphers?" Troy asked her.

She nodded. "Not on us, but Ji could get them to us," she said with a look at Jayden. Jayden was already on his phone.

"So much for a one-night only engagement," Antonio said. He clapped Jayden on the shoulder. "Here we go again!" He was smiling, but it was forced.

"We should get home," Troy told Orion. He looked at his friends. "Everyone should go check on their families; make sure they're safe. Then meet at our house." He looked skyward. "If you can get there."

As the group split up, emergency sirens started to wail all over the city.

* * *

_Angel Grove, California_

_NASADA_

"Take a look at this." TJ Johnson wheeled his chair over to the console where Carlos Vallerte and Andros were studying the satellite images of the alien ships. "You guys see what I see?"

Andros nodded. "Yeah. They're primarily centered on California."

"Well seeing as how we're the only place with Power Rangers," Carlos shrugged. "It makes sense." He looked at his friends grimly. "Anybody else getting bad flashbacks?"

"Extremely," TJ replied.

"It's more than just California," Andros said. He pointed. "They're all surrounding Harwood and branching out."

"There's an active Ranger team there," Carlos said. "The news was reporting this morning that they tried to…make an example…of their Red Ranger."

"We should go help," TJ said. "We've still got morphers, and with _this_ ," he gestured to the screen, "those kids are gonna need all the help they can get."

* * *

_Mariner Bay, California_

Bill Mitchell's phone vibrated insistently on the nighstand next to his bed. He put down the John Grisham he was reading and reached for it. "Four missed calls?" he said aloud as he flipped the phone open. A black box with a red exclamation point was the first thing that appeared, an emergency notification from the state's broadcast system. **THREAT LEVEL RED. TUNE INTO YOUR LOCAL NEWS STATION FOR FURTHER UPDATES.**

Bill flicked on the TV as he called his daughter's number. "Dana. What-"

Dana's voice interrupted, filling him in. At the end of it, she said, " _Just stay in Mariner Bay, Dad. It's not safe to come here."_

Bill shook his head. "The hell if I'm staying here." A thought occurred to him. "I've got something you guys might need. I love you. See you in a few hours."

* * *

_Harwood, California_

"Ugh!" Dana hung up the phone and tossed it onto the counter. "He's so stubborn!"

"That's a Mitchell family trademark," Ryan pointed out, leaning against the stove. "Come on, Day, you can't really have expected him to stay there when you and I and his grandson are here, right?"

"I really don't know _what_ to expect anymore, Ryan," Dana exploded. "There's probably half a billion alien ships parked in the sky! I don't know where my sons are and our father is driving here in the middle of the night into an active warzone!"

To Ryan's surprise, she collapsed to the table, sobbing. He pushed off the stove and came to join her, pulling her into a hug. "Dana. I'm sorry. It's okay. It's going to be okay."

"How do you know that, Ryan?" she asked into his shirt.

 _I don't_. "Because it has to be."

Carter came into the kitchen. "That was TJ Johnson," he said as Ryan looked up. "NASADA's tracking even more ships. He said they're all centered over California, but the trajectory suggests they're coming…they're coming here." He joined his brother in law and his wife at the table. "Chad, Kelsey and Joel should be back, they took the Rover to go look for the kids."

"Found 'em!" Joel announced as they came through the back door into the kitchen. He and Kelsey moved aside as Chad, Troy and Orion came into the kitchen. Troy saw his mother in his uncle's arms and instantly hugged her from behind.

"Mom, we're here," he assured her. He looked at his father. "Dad…what are we going to do?"

Carter ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in his chair. "TJ Johnson said his team is coming here."

"Jayden Shiba and the Samurai Rangers said they're staying to help, too," Orion reported.

"Why don't you call Wes and Eric?" Ryan suggested to Carter. "I know the rest of their group is…well, they're probably not gonna make it, but Eric's wife…Taylor, right? Her team is still around."

Carter took a deep breath and let it out, slapping the table. "Yeah. Sounds good. I'll be right back." He got up from the table and squeezed his wife's shoulder reassuringly before heading into the living room.

* * *

_Silver Hills, California_

Taylor Earhardt came into the bedroom to see Eric Meyers strapping on his Silver Guardian gear. She frowned, looking at the clock. "Did I miss something?" she asked. "Is there a reason you're going in to work at…10:45 at night?"

"Wes called," Eric said, checking the safety on his pistol and putting it in the holster. "It's all over the news. The alien Armada is surrounding us. It's going down."

Taylor studied her husband a moment and then went over to the dresser, searching for a pair of jeans. "What do you think you're doing?" Eric asked her.

"Going with you," she responded, pulling on her jeans and discarding her sleep shirt.

"Uh, no, you're not," Eric told her.

She whirled around and crossed her arms over her chest. "Really."

Eric reached into the back of the closet and tossed a yellow vest at her. Taylor smirked as she took it off the hanger, the YELLOW EAGLE emblem staring back at her. "That's what I thought."

* * *

_Harwood_

The front door opened at the Grayson residence and Gia Moran stepped inside, followed by Jake. "Troy?" Gia yelled.

"Kitchen!" Troy yelled back. They followed the hall into the kitchen and were met by Troy and Orion, Carter, Dana and Ryan and the rest of the Lightspeed team. Troy looked at Gia. Her eyes were red. He looked questioningly at Jake.

"Didn't go so well," Jake replied quietly. "Her mom is in the city somewhere, she couldn't get ahold of her."

Orion moved to hug her, but Gia held up a hand. "I'm fine," she told them. "Don't." She took a deep breath and looked at Troy. "Are we the first ones here?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah." He looked out the glass deck doors as if willing Emma and Noah to appear. "Jake, where's your dad?"

"At home," Jake said. "I told him we should take cover downstairs, and then I ran up because I 'forgot something,'" he curled his fingers into air quotes. "Dad'll be pissed, but at least he'll be safe." He smiled thinly. "I hope, anyway."

"Anybody home?" The voice was Emma Goodall's and Troy breathed a sigh of relief as Emma came into the living room, closely followed by her mother. Gwen Goodall looked terrible. Dana got up from the table, the caregiver in her not willing to let her be like that alone. "Gwen. Come on, let's get a cup of coffee. We've got room for you and Emma tonight." She looked back over her shoulder at Emma, who gave her a grateful look and leaned into Troy. "Sorry," she apologized. "I couldn't get her to stay home."

"It's okay," Troy replied. "She knows who my parents are, it's probably better if she's here anyway." He looked at Jake and Gia. "We should've just had everybody's folks come here." He ran a hand through his hair. "I get the feeling we're going to have to tell them sooner rather than later who we are."

"No, this is better," Jake countered. "For me, anyway. Dad's having a hard enough time dealing with invading aliens. He's not ready to find out his son's been fighting them all year."

"Guys!" Noah Carver came bursting through the front door at a run, not even bothering to close it behind him. He looked at Carter. "You need to see the news. Right now."

The group crowded into the living room as Carter flicked on the big screen and tuned it into the local station. A reporter was live, standing downtown.

"… _You can see behind me, the ships are beginning to fire on the city-"_ Something exploded behind the reporter and he and his cameraman dove for cover. The camera remained fixed on the tripod and the group gaped in shock as flame and smoke licked the sky. The whine of the alien ships filled the air as car anti-theft sirens and the emergency sirens joined them. The reporter was silent; all you could hear on the microphone was destruction.

Carter was grim, clenching the remote so tightly his knuckles were white. Somewhere down there, his fellow firefighters were mobilizing.

"Dad…"Orion spoke up quietly from his position on the floor next to Troy. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen. "Dad?" The group waited tensely. Finally, Carter hit the mute on the remote and turned to Orion.

"Dad, I know…you said this was our battle…." Orion looked at Troy, looked around the room at his Earth family. "But-"

"Not anymore," Dana came into the room. Emma looked at her questioningly. "Your mom is asleep in our room. I may have given her something." She looked at the group. "This is….bigger. Much bigger than just you guys. We…. _you_ …need help." She looked at her LIghtspeed teammates. Kelsey, Ryan, Chad and Joel, and her husband, all gave her a solemn nod.

"Do we have any way of contacting any other Ranger teams?" Kelsey asked. "Besides the ones that are already on their way?"

"I bet there's a number for Jungle Karma Pizza," Troy said. He looked at Noah.

"On it," Noah said, pulling out his phone.

"I've still got a few phone numbers," Carter said. "I can try to make some calls."

"The Armada ship," Orion said suddenly. The group turned to look at him. "The one I came in," he added. His mind was racing. "I could use it, could make a trip…there's Rangers out there," he said, pointing skyward. "I could bring them back."

"Orion, that's insane," Ryan said. "You'd have to get through… _that_." He pointed at the TV screen, where they were showing satellite imagery.

"I could do it," Orion insisted. "They're too focused down here. They'd never notice another ship. They'll think I'm just part of the fleet!"

"Son, even if you got through…" Carter ran a hand through his hair. "The only teams I know of that are out there are the Alien Rangers and the Galaxy Rangers. Aquitar's not exactly _close_ , and the Galaxy Rangers are…well, it's called the Lost Galaxy for a reason!"

"Dad-" Orion tried, but Carter held up a hand, cutting him off.

"Where's the ship?" Ryan asked, interrupting before his brother in law could say anything.

"Ryan!" Carter protested, but the younger man ignored him.

"Um, it's cloaked. In the State Park, I think," Orion said. "It was dark when I landed, but I'm sure I could find it again."

Ryan looked at Carter. "The Rescue Rover could make it," he said. He looked at Joel. The daredevil nodded.

"We could get him there," Joel backed Ryan up.

Carter shot them both murderous looks. "No! There's plenty of teams right here on _this_ planet-"

"It's not your call, Dad," Troy spoke up sharply, and Carter glared at his son. He looked around the room. "It's _mine_. I'm the Red Ranger for this team." He took a breath and let it out. "This is it. This is the vision I've been having. And in that vision…it's _everybody_. Everybody is here, on Earth, fighting the Armada."

"I don't want to get in the middle of this," Gia said quietly, "but even all the Earth teams…it might not be enough." She looked at Troy and Orion. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

"I have to try," Orion pleaded with Carter. "I don't _want_ to leave," he told everyone in the room. "But we _need_ help." Orion stood up. "I swore that I would never let the Armada do to Earth what it did to Andresia." He looked at Carter and Dana. "Dad…Mom…I _have_ to do this."

Dana reached over and placed a hand on her husband's arm. Carter jerked and looked over at her, willing her to disagree. Dana gave him a sad smile, then turned to Joel and Ryan.

"Take care of our son," she told them, ending the discussion.

"I'll go with them," Kelsey said, rising as her husband and Joel stood up. Ryan tossed Joel the keys to the Rover.

Troy got up. "We'll help," he said, and the Megaforce group nodded. "We'll get him in the air, and then come back."

Dana and Carter rose from the couch almost in unison. It would've been cute, if the situation hadn't been so dire. They threw their arms around their sons. "We love you _both_ ," Dana said, holding onto them tightly.

Troy and Orion looked at Carter hesitantly. Carter was still hugging them silently. When he finally pulled back, he kept his hands on their shoulders. "Be careful," he said hoarsely.

Troy glanced at Orion. "We will," both boys said quietly.


	61. Fight and Flight

Jake was holding the door open as the Megaforce Rangers filed out. Before they could all leave, a car roared to a stop outside the house. Practically before it was parked, Bill Mitchell appeared from the driver's side, holding a silver case in his hands. "Grandpa!" Troy said in surprise. Bill hugged his grandson as the others came out onto the porch.

"They're starting to close the highways," Bill said, turning to Dana and Carter. "I had to pull some strings to get here, but I wanted to make sure you had these." The Lightspeed logo gleamed in the porchlight.

"Are those-?" Noah asked excitedly. Bill popped the case open. Six morphers lay in the black protective foam. "They are," Bill said quietly, looking at the adults.

Joel gave a low whistle. "Never thought I'd see that thing again," he said.

Chad reached in and pulled Aqua Rescue Morpher 2 from the black foam padding. "Me either," he said, turning it over in the porchlight. He looked at Carter.

The kids stayed quiet as the adults reached in and pulled the Lightspeed Rescue Morphers from the case and strapped them on. "We should wait with them," Carter said, looking at his team. He turned to Troy. "If we're using them and you would need our gear, I don't know if you'd be able to access it."

"Just do it anyway," Troy shook his head. "We've got plenty of other teams to pick from, Dad. We'll be okay." He looked at Orion, who was shifting restlessly on the steps. "We should get going."

Carter nodded solemnly. "We've got your back," he told Troy, holding his wrist up, morpher out.

The kids hopped off the porch and ran for the Rescue Rover. Joel and Ryan slid in with them. It was a tight squeeze but Joel fired up the engine anyway and backed it out of the driveway. The yellow Hummer disappeared into the night, leaving Carter, Dana, Kelsey and Chad with Bill Mitchell on the Grayson's porch.

"Now what?" Chad asked, turning to Carter. It amazed him how easily it came, reverting back to Carter being the leader.

Carter looked at his wife. "We should go into town, see if we can't help evacuate people," he decided.

"Sounds like a plan," Kelsey said. "Maybe we can kick a little alien ass while we're at it." Chad smiled at her and she grinned back.

"Dad, if you could stay here…we've got a houseguest. And we might send a few more your way," Dana asked her father. Bill nodded, giving his daughter a hug as the four Lightspeed rangers climbed into Carter's truck.

* * *

_Angel Grove_

Adam Park rolled over in bed and tried to ignore the incessant ringing of the phone by his bed. It had been a long day at the dojo-his students had had a showcase earlier and he'd arrived early and come home late.

But the phone wouldn't shut up, so Adam grimaced in his sleep and rolled over, blindly grasping for the offending object before locating it and thumbing the screen. "Who is this?" he asked. _It better not be anybody I know-they should all know better than to call at-_ he blinked at his alarm clock- _geez, 2:30 in the morning._

" _Adam?"_ The voice belonged to someone he hadn't spoken to in a long time, and he was instantly alert.

"Carlos?"

On the other end of the phone, Carlos Vallerte rubbed his eyes tiredly as TJ Johnson's car sped toward Harwood. "Adam, hi. It's Carlos. It's um, it's been awhile."

" _Tell me about it. Is everything okay?"_ Adam's voice held a hint of concern rather than the tiredness it had a moment ago.

Carlos met TJ's eyes in the rearview as he shook his head. "No. You seen the news at all?"

He could hear Adam moving on the other end, and waited. Noise in the background-probably the TV. He heard Adam swear. " _What the hell is happening_?"

"Nothing good. Me, TJ, Cassie, Ashley and Andros are on our way to Harwood now. We figure they could use all the help they can get. I thought-" Carlos pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's not looking good, man. I know you've been out of the game awhile, but…"

" _Not as long as you think_ ," Adam replied. " _Let me see who else I can round up. We'll be there."_

* * *

_Ocean Bluff_

RJ James could not figure out why the pizza in his dream was vibrating. Everytime he went to put the mozzarella on it, it would bounce out of the way. Finally, he smacked a hand down on top of it-

His eyes shot open in the dim light of the kitchen as he realized he'd slapped the hardwood countertop-and it wasn't the pizza vibrating, it was his phone. On off hours, the restaurant phone was forwarded to his cell phone, and he could see that the number on the Caller ID wasn't a local one. Shaking his head to clear it, he answered it, "Um…Jungle Karma Pizza…we're sort of closed…"

" _RJ? Is that you?"_ a voice asked from the other end. RJ blinked and sat up on the stool he'd fallen asleep on. " _This is Noah Carver. From Harwood. The Blue-"_

"Ranger," RJ cut in, the voice finally making sense. "Can I do for you, Noah? Little late for pizza."

" _The Armada is attacking with everything they've got. I'm calling because we could really use some help down here, and-"_

"Say no more," RJ cut him off, completely focused and awake. "I'll call the other Rangers. We'll be there."

* * *

"Left!" Jake yelled in Joel Rawlings' ear as they raced through town. He'd just spotted a platoon of X-Borgs coming down the side road, and Joel almost put the Rover on two wheels taking the other turn. Troy held onto the roll bar as they picked their way through the streets. A few more miles and they'd be at the main entrance for the state park, and from there, on to the Armada ship Orion had arrived in.

"God, look at all this." Emma was near tears as they drove through downtown. There were hardly any buildings without any damage at all. Police and emergency services had set up a barricade around the hospital, but the mall had a gaping hole and as they drove past the school, Troy flinched as he could see fires in the lower levels and broken windows and plaster. She hugged her knees to her chest. "This is awful."

Troy wanted to tell her it would be okay, but he didn't know if he could. The buildings started to thin out as they headed slightly out of town toward the park. Outside of town wasn't much better. Troy could see cars in the ditches and houses in the suburbs that were dark and empty.

"Jungle Fury's coming," Noah announced over the roar of the engine and Troy nodded grimly to him. Hopefully it would be enough.

"Hang on!" Joel yelled, and Ryan reached for the roll cage as Joel went flying over the speed bumps into the state park. "Where's a spot big enough to park a ship with no one noticing?" he yelled at the kids in the back.

"Landers' Gully," Emma spoke up quickly. When the group turned to look at her, she shrugged. "Used to take pictures there all the time. It's a beautiful place."

"Go up the main road and then go right," Gia directed Joel, grasping her best friend's hand.

"We've got company!" Ryan announced, looking off into the trees. X-Borgs were coming through the campsites, rounding up people. Joel hit the horn and swung the Rover to a grinding halt. The kids jumped out. "Split up!" Joel said. He looked at Ryan. "You get Orion to the ship," he instructed. He cracked his knuckles and looked at the incoming aliens. "The rest of us can help these guys."

"Okay," Ryan nodded. He tapped his wrist. "Don't forget you've got backup," he told Joel.

Joel grinned. "Oh believe me, I'm ready to fly." As Ryan and Orion took off into the trees, Joel stepped in front of the Megaforce team, standing between them and the X-Borgs with their captives. "Been a long time," he said, "but I think I still remember how this goes." With a grin at Troy, he threw his arms out in front of him.

"Lightspeed Rescue!"

"Yeah, Uncle Joel!" Troy cheered as Joel turned to them in the Lightspeed Rescue Green suit. He turned to the others. "Come on, let's join the party!"

"You got it." Gia's voice was low and determined.

"Super Mega Mode!"

Five pirate-suited rangers joined Joel in knocking away the X-Borgs from the civilians.

* * *

Ryan Mitchell was acutely grateful for all the early morning runs with his wife. He and Orion ripped through the forest, heading for the gully, dodging tree branches and rocks on the trail.

He heard the sound of something mechanical behind him, and craned his head backwards to see X-Borgs coming down the trail at them. He swore, throwing his hands into the air. "Titanium Power!" he intoned as the X-Borgs gained. The suit gave him an extra burst. Ahead of him, Orion got the message and morphed as well, and the two silver-colored Rangers picked up speed. The trail dipped down sharply, and the two of them somersaulted forward, coming to their feet on the edge of a little gully.

Down below them, a red and white Armada ship sat shrouded in the darkness. "Get down there and get going," Ryan commanded, and Orion nodded, taking off at a run. Ryan yanked his blaster from his belt and fired at the incoming X-Borgs, but they were soon all over him.

Orion sprinted for the ship, finding the door to the cockpit and shoving it open. The ship hadn't been used in months, so everything was a little stiff. "God I hope I remember how to fly this thing," he whispered.

Ryan flipped an X-Borg over his shoulder. "Come on, Orion!" he yelled. "Get that thing in the air!"

Orion punched the buttons to bring the ship to life. At first, there was nothing, but then, a low-pitched whine, and then bright lights filled the cockpit. He gripped the yoke of the ship and willed it to rise off the gully's floor. "Come _on!"_

Ryan spun around and dropped another X-Borg, then looked at the Armada ship. The ship sputtered, then roared to life. Bright orange flame burst from the engines and Ryan clenched a fist as the ship rose off the floor, clipped a tree, and then soared into the night sky.

"Yes!" he yelled, using his blaster to clear a hole through the X-Borgs, and then took off back toward the beginning of the trail, where his nephew and his team were fighting.

* * *

Orion matched the speed of the ships surrounding the planet. "There's so many of them," he breathed, trying to keep the fact that he was going the opposite direction of the entire fleet from being too obvious. The darkness of Earth's sky gave way to the darkness of space, illuminated by the moon he could now see and the lights of millions of Armada ships.

His radio crackled to life, startling him from his concentration. The voice on the other end came through, gravelly and alien. It sounded like it was asking a question. "No way am I answering," Orion said. His voice sounded hollow in the cockpit.

The voice was growing more insistent, and Orion put on a little more speed. Something flashed to life on the display, and Orion realized he was looking at his ships' radar tracking.

There were two ships behind him, following him. "Oh no." Orion opened up the engines, giving the ship a burst. "If I can just make it through the fleet, I can open her all the way up and get out of here," he decided. He piloted around a couple of bigger gunships, but his tails were right behind him.

Off to his right, he saw a faint purple glow. He turned the ship toward it as he burst through the outer perimeter of the Armada ships. His tails were right behind him, and now warning lights were flashing all over the console. "Damn it!" Orion swore.

Target lock. They were going to fire. Orion turned toward the purple light, which looked like a round hole. _I don't know what it is, but right now, it's looking like a really good escape route._ He poured everything into the propulsion system and the little ship shot forward.

"Anybody out there?" he yelled, slamming his hands down on the radio. "If there's anybody out there, someone help me!"

In his mind, he knew it was crazy. Who the hell was going to hear him besides the Armada out here?

And then, a voice. " _Bank right!"_

Orion didn't even argue. He didn't know if the voice was in his head or from the radio, but he did as it commanded, rolling the ship to the right.

As the ship righted itself, he could see a faint greenish hue in out the viewscreen. _What is that?_ It was large, big enough to be…was that a _planet_?

The voice came to him again. _"Set your ship for these coordinates_ ," it said. It rattled off a string of numbers that Orion punched into the nav system.

"I've got two ships chasing me!" he yelled.

" _We know. Stand by."_

Red bolts of light exploded from the planet's surface as Orion sped closer, now on track with the coordinates he'd been given. " _Check left!"_ the voice yelled at him, and Orion spun the ship to the left. The red bolts blew past him-laser fire, he realized, and he heard a very satisfying explosion from behind him.

The planet's surface was getting closer now. It really _was_ that green. "I've still got one more!" Orion told the voice. "I can't shake him!"

" _No worries,_ " the voice said calmly. " _On my mark, roll right and bank up."_

Orion gripped the yoke tighter, waiting for the command. The ship was getting awfully close to the ground; he could see treetops. But also, something else. A massive clear dome ahead of him. It reminded him of the dome protecting Corinth. _I didn't get to Corinth somehow, did I?_

" _Mark!"_ the voice barked, and Orion instinctively did as the voice had instructed. Red laser bolts erupted from somewhere on the planet, and the ship behind him wasn't fast enough to ignore it.

"Yeah!" Orion pounded the console. "Got him!"

" _You'd better land that thing,"_ the voice said, sounding mildly amused. " _Then we should probably talk."_

Orion could see a strip of gray ahead of him, outlined in green blinking lights. "I see the landing strip," he said. "I don't know if I can land this. I kinda crashed it on Earth."

" _Earth?"_ the voice gasped. " _Wait, you're from Earth?!"_

"Yeah!" Orion said, then grimaced. "No, it's gonna be a crash." The ship hit the landing strip _hard_ , Orion couldn't get the vertical landing program to launch. It skidded with a horrific sound of metal across the tarmac, sailing off the runway and into a stand of trees. Orion's head hit the console so hard it bounced.

He sat in the cockpit, stunned, as a team of jumpsuited people came out to meet the ship. Black sleeves with gray chests and a small white logo on the sides. Someone popped the door off and strong hands carefully pulled him out of the cockpit and set him down on the tarmac. Bright sunlight filled Orion's vision and he closed his eyes to adjust.

"He's just a kid!" a voice gaped.

"Open your eyes, son," a familiar voice told him. Orion popped open one, then the other, slowly.

Brown eyes stared at him. The man's black hair was buzzed short. "Can you stand?" he asked. Orion nodded carefully, wincing. "He's gonna need medical. Can you get Kendrix down here?" the man asked someone. The someone in green coveralls nodded and took off at a run.

"Take it easy, kid," the man told him, turning his gaze back to Orion. "My name's Mike Corbett. You're gonna be okay."

* * *

_Newtech City, 2030_

Bridge Carson's shoes pounded the corridor as he ran to the command hub. "Sorry!" he yelled as he ran over someone in the hall, making sure he didn't drop the datapad he held in his hand. He skidded around the corner as the doors slid back. "Sky!" he yelled.

Schuyler Tate whirled around at the panic in Bridge's voice. "Bridge? What's going on?" he asked, stepping off the platform to meet him.

"The time anomaly," Bridge said breathlessly. "The-the-the thing that I went back in time for? It wasn't the right thing!" he gasped, thrusting the datapad at his commanding officer. "I found the thing!"

Sky took it and studied it. "That's a lot of Power in one place," he noted. Power with a capital 'P' meant a lot of rangers in one place. "The Morphing Grid is going crazy," he added, looking at the readouts. He looked at Bridge. "What the hell is happening in 2014?"

"I don't know, but we should go there. Then. We should go then," Bridge breathed. He looked at Sky. "Sky. We have to go. I was early. It was bad when I was early, but this is later, and it's worse."

Two more people joined them in the hub. A striking blonde woman in a pink uniform and a dark haired one in yellow. "Bridge Carson, what the _hell_ ," Z Delgado demanded of her husband. "Right in the middle of dinner, he takes off like a bat out of hell-"

"That's a lot of 'hells' in one sentence," Sydney Drew chided her friend gently. "Breathe."

Z shot her old roommate a glare. "Well here's another. What the _hell_ is going on?" she demanded.

Wordlessly, Sky handed her the datapad. Z read it, Syd crowding over her shoulder. She looked at Sky in alarm. "This isn't good."

"Tell me about it." Sky said grimly. He looked at Bridge. The Red Ranger was shaking. It was then that Sky noticed that Bridge wasn't wearing his gloves. "Jesus, Bridge. Seriously?" Bridge shoved his hands in his pockets, but it wasn't helping. Too much tension in the room along with whatever the heck was going down in 2014 and it was screwing with his aura reading

Sky turned to Z. "We could use one more. Do you think-"

Z nodded. "Yeah, I'll call him."

Sky took a deep breath and let it out. "All right then." He looked at his team. "We're headed for 2014."


	62. The Price of Defiance

"Do you know the odds of a wormhole event occurring at the exact time you needed it?" Kai Chen, Galaxy Blue Ranger, was pacing back and forth inside the medical ward at the Mirinoi Space Port. He looked at Orion, who was sitting on a hospital cot, holding an ice pack to his temple. "It's astronomical!"

"I can see the steam coming out of your ears," Mike Corbett teased his friend gently. "I don't need to know the numbers." He looked at Orion. "I'm just glad it did."

"What we need to do is get to Earth," Leo Corbett, Galaxy Red, told his brother. He looked around the room. Gathered around Orion's bed were Karone Corbett, Mike's wife and the sister of Andros, Maya, Kendrix Morgan, Damon Henderson and Kai, all the former members of the Lost Galaxy rangers. Leo looked at Orion. "Sooner rather than later," he added. "Who knows how long this wormhole will stay open?"

"Don't," Maya told Kai as she could see Kai going to run the numbers.

"I can't go," Karone said. She looked at her husband. Mike was looking at her, confused. "Someone's gotta take care of Chris," she said, referring to their son. "I can't just leave him…"

"I'll stay," Kendrix spoke up. All eyes in the room turned to her. She shrugged and tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "You five-six-" she corrected with a nod at Mike, "you were the ones who returned the Quasar Sabres to their home," she explained. "You should be the ones to go."

"I don't have powers anymore," Mike replied, shaking his head. "I should stay and you guys should go."

Kendrix shook her head. "That may be, but you _are_ qualified to pilot a shuttle, where I'm not." She looked at Karone seriously. "You've got family on Earth that will be fighting too…you should go." She touched a hand to Leo's face. "Go," she told him seriously. She looked at Karone, then to Mike Corbett. "I'll keep an eye on Chris for you," she promised.

"If we're gonna go," Orion interrupted, not wanting to ruin the moment, but desperate to get back to Earth, "then we should go."

Leo raised an eyebrow and looked at Orion, who hastily amended, "Look, I've got family already there fighting," he explained. "I need to get…" He thought for a moment, realization sinking in. "Home," he said finally. He looked at Leo, pleading. "I need to get _home_."

Damon smirked. "Reminds me of you, Kai," he said with a wink at their Blue Ranger. "All business, no fun."

* * *

_Earth_

The Rescue Rover led a convoy of vehicles from the state park back into city limits. Ryan was on the phone with Carter, and the Megaforce Rangers were keeping an eye out for stragglers and X-Borgs.

"Okay!" he yelled over the wind into the phone. "Carter says they're trying to get people to the hospital as a safe zone."

"That's where we've got to get these guys then," Troy decided. As the Rover turned the corner coming up on city limits, the pavement ahead of them exploded. Joel yanked on the wheel, and the Rover swerved to a stop. The car following them narrowly missed hitting them; they came so close Noah could have touched their roof with his foot from his spot in the back of the Rover.

Emma stood up in the back, hanging onto the roll bar as she looked ahead. "What _was_ that?" she wondered.

Ryan was the first to spot it. "Friend of yours?" he asked, pointing as the smoke cleared.

"Definitely not," Troy said. His blood ran cold as he recognized the green-haired Armada scientist, Levira, standing in the middle of the road. "That's Levira. She's some kind of scientist. She created the X-Borgs."

"What's a scientist doing down here?" Noah wondered.

"Who cares?" That came from Gia. "We've got bigger problems to deal with!" She pointed skyward. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, but the pink of the sky was checkered with the dark shadows of the Armada fleet.

A barrage of missile fire overtook the Rover, and the rangers dove for cover. "I'll never stop until you're defeated!" Levira was screaming at them.

Troy swung out of the Rover and strode toward the front of it. "Neither will we!" he declared. He turned to his uncle. "We'll deal with her. You guys get these people out of here."

"We've got morphers, man, we can-" Joel began, but Troy shook his head.

"We've got this. Those people need rescuing," he said with a meaningful look.

Joel snorted. "Yeah, okay. I see what you did there, Troy."

"Be careful." The warning came from Ryan, whose normally laid-back face was etched with worry aimed at his nephew. "Your mom will kill me if anything happens to you."

Troy couldn't help it. He laughed. "She'll have to get in line, Uncle Ryan," he said with a shake of his head. "Now _go_!"

The other four rangers jumped from the yellow Hummer and stood between Levira and the convoy. Joel shifted and put the Rover through the ditch and onto a frontage road.

"We need to get through her fast," Jake said as the cars peeled off the main road.

"Yeah, I think we've got something for that," Troy agreed, pulling out his morpher. "Let's go Legendary!" He inserted his key and turned it. "Shift into Turbo!" The others followed suit, and the five of them stood against Levira, morphed into the almost-solid colored uniforms of the Turbo Rangers.

Troy leveled his Auto Blaster at Levira. "Should've stayed in your laboratory, Levira," he warned her.

"I created the machines that will destroy your world," Levira countered. "My creations have slaughtered countless other worlds." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Yours will be no different!"

"That's where you're wrong!" Emma brandished a Turbo Blade. " _We're_ the difference!" With that, she leapt forward, bringing the blade down in a slashing motion against Levira's chest. Levira dodged the strike and Troy opened fire with his Auto Blaster, sending Levira staggering. Jake and Noah jumped in with double the weaponry; both took a swing at the scientist with their Turbo Blades. Levira parried Jake, but Gia was right behind him, peppering Levira with blasts from her own Auto Blaster.

"Don't quit!" Troy encouraged. He was hoping the rapid-fire attacks would keep Levira off balance enough for them to move in and finish her off. He switched from blaster to blade and drove Levira back. The scientist was fighting furiously, but Troy strongly suspected that while she may have had a hand in creating soldiers, she wasn't one herself.

"This is about Damaras, isn't it?" he grunted as he locked arms with her, pulling her into an arm bar she tried to twist out of. "You guys had a thing or something?"

Levira screeched, furious. Under his visor, Troy nodded. "Thought so!" As his teammates leveled their Auto Blasters at her, he whispered, "Don't worry; you'll see him soon enough!" With that, he dove out of the way as Gia, Emma, Noah and Jake opened fire.

When the bolts of energy and smoke cleared, Levira was down. Troy felt the Turbo suit disappear, replaced by his red pirate uniform. Part of him thought he should feel bad. Most of him didn't. _That was for that first X-Borg,_ he thought coldly. Then, he turned to his team.

"Nice work, everyone. Let's get back into town and-"

The booming voice of Emperor Mavro filled the skies once again. " _Rangers! Face it, you cannot hope to stand against a force of this size. Our fleet will grind away at you until it achieves the inevitable: your defeat. End this futile resistance now!"_

"We need to send this guy a message," Jake decided, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at Troy. "Got anything?"

Troy grinned, letting his visor pop up. "As it happens…" He grinned and looked at Gia.

"You're gonna say it, aren't you." She sighed and looked at Emma. "He's gonna say it."

Troy pointed defiantly skyward. "This is our answer!" he yelled, more of a promise than an exclamation. "Earth's defenders _never_ surrender!"

The voice of Mavro was silent for a moment. Then, the emperor spoke again, calmly and decisively. " _Very well Rangers. Then you have doomed yourselves and your entire planet."_

With that, the entire front line of the Armada opened fire on the Rangers.

* * *

"The other should be down here somewhere…" Joel gritted his teeth as he led the group through the streets. Ryan had jumped out a few blocks prior and suited up, trying to clear a path with the Titanium Laser. The streets were littered with debris, and X-Borgs were still advancing.

"We'll never make it," Joel whispered. The hospital had to be at least five or six blocks away, and they were practically impassable.

Then, from behind him, there was an unmistakable roar. Joel knew the sound of that engine anywhere. He looked in the side mirror. A Harley Davidson Softail was pounding up the sidewalk. The rider was wearing a black leather jacket and a red shirt, their features obscured by a black helmet. The Harley roared past the group and as it reached the group of X-Borgs ahead, the driver turned the bike on its' side and slid it down the street, knocking into the X-Borgs like bowling pins. Joel grimaced as sparks flew, and he knew the bike was going to be damaged beyond repair.

Stunned, the X-Borgs retreated a little farther away, and the driver got up from the ground, dusting off their jeans like nothing had happened. They stepped up in front of Joel, the emergency lights of the Rescue Rover reflecting off their helmet.

Then, the driver removed the helmet. "Sorry about that. Tried to catch up sooner." The driver was a man, with brown hair buzzed short, a brown beard and mustache.

"Better late than never," Joel replied. "Man, though, your bike…"

The man chuckled. "Yeah, well, it went to a good cause, at least," he said. "Maybe my girlfriend will quit hassling me about getting a car now." He craned his neck, looking beyond the convoy. "She should be coming here shortly."

"I'm Joel," Joel introduced himself. "Don't suppose you want to help me get these people to the hospital? I've got some friends waiting for them-"

"Carter Grayson one of those friends?" the man asked.

Joel's jaw dropped. "Yeah…how-"

The man pointed to the hood of the Rover. "Recognized the vehicle. Hasn't changed in a few years." He put his helmet on the hood of the Rover and held out his hand. "I'm Jason."

* * *

Troy felt an Armada shot whiz past his ear as he scaled the ropes into the SkyShip. As soon as his hands touched the wheel he called their other Zords and switched to the MegaZord. "We gotta hit them fast and hard. Don't give them a chance to counter-strike!" he told his team. He felt a little more secure in the MegaZord. The big machine could take the hits.

 _For awhile, anyway._ "Give them everything we've got," Troy told his team. "Aim at everything and anything. We've gotta take out as much of that fleet as we can."

"This is like shooting a BB gun at a freight train," Jake muttered, unleashing the cannon.

"Then let's up the ammo!" Emma turned to look at Troy. "We've got a couple extra tricks up our sleeves we could try," she suggested.

" _Oh_." Troy got it. "Red Lion Wild Zord!" he called, inserting his key and turning it.

"Red Turbo Falcon!" Noah caught on, inserting another key into his console.

Moments later, there was a groundshaking roar, and the giant Red Lion WildZord came thundering from the sky. The massive Zord planted itself in the waters of the port and began swiping at Armada ships like they were toy mice. Its' giant paws knocked them out of the sky like flies. " _Yeah!"_ Emma cheered.

A high-powered engine was the next sound they heard. Then, the Red Turbo Falcon, Scott Truman's personal RPM vehicle came zipping from….well, Troy couldn't be sure, but it looked like the rail yard, hit one of the off ramps from the highway and vaulted into the sky, opening fire on the Armada ships.

Troy pounded the ships' wheel. "We've got our own fleet!" he cheered, wishing he could kiss Emma for the idea.

"And one more," Gia said, turning her own key. There was a prehistoric roar, and the mighty Q-Rex came steadily down the streets of Harwood, crushing X-Borgs under its' feet, and catching Armada ships in it's giant jaws.

"Earth 1, Aliens _nothing_!" Jake yelled enthusiastically.

The MegaZord rocked and Jake's head hit the side of the wall. "Ow!" he yelled in surprise. "What the-"

Out the cockpit window, downtown was blotted out as Armada ships formed into an attack formation, all guns aiming at the MegaZord.

Gia threw a glance over her shoulder at Jake. "I blame you," she said, and the MegaZord rocked again.

" _No!"_ The cry of anguish came from Emma, who had brought her hands up to her helmet in a gasp. Four Armada ships were converging on the Turbo Falcon. The Falcon tried to bank right, but it was all a trap. It ran into a squadron of Armada fighters…who blew the red car to pieces.

"It's _gone_!" Noah gaped. "We just lost the Turbo Falcon!"

* * *

Down on the ground, Eric Meyer climbed out of a yellow Mustang convertible and ran around to the front, his eyes trained on the giant metal T-Rex in the sky. A hand slipped through his and his wife joined him as they watched the fierce battle raging overhead. "It's not going so well," Taylor murmured.

Behind them, a blue Toyota 4Runner pulled in, and four people got out. "Taylor! Eric!" The voice belonged to Alyssa Evans, and Taylor turned to see her best friend jogging toward them, followed by Cole, Danny and Max. "We've been trying to flag you guys down forever!" Max said.

"You know Taylor," Eric said, never taking his eyes off the sky, "she's got a lead foot."

"I can't believe this," Alyssa said, and Cole hugged her as they watched the Q-Rex fighting overhead.

"The Q-Rex can handle it," Eric said confidently, and Taylor wished she was as confident as he was.

* * *

Inside the cockpit of the MegaZord, things were looking very grim. Troy maneuvered them so that they didn't land on a housing development, but the foot of the MegaZord landed dangerously close to the community college. He hoped it had been evacuated.

"Troy, _look_!" Gia pointed out the display at the Q-Rex. It was being swarmed by Armada fighters. The dinosaur was swatting them away but almost as quickly as it batted them away, more took their place. "They're all over him!"

"Call him back!" Troy yelled to Noah, but outside, there was a deafening explosion.

" _No!_ " Eric Meyer collapsed to the hood of the Mustang, and Taylor had to adjust so that she didn't fall with him. It felt like he couldn't breathe.

* * *

"Here comes Red Lion!" Danny tapped Cole on the shoulder as the Red Lion came bounding onto the scene. One paw swiped the Q-Rex's destroyers out of the air, sending the ships collapsing to the ground.

"Go get 'em!" Cole cheered. He looked at Eric. It couldn't bring the Q-Rex back, but it could help get retribution on what had destroyed it. Hopefully Eric would be okay with that.

Only- Two giant purple bolts of energy appeared out of nowhere. The Red Lion disappeared in a burst of purple energy and smoke, and Cole screamed and dropped to his knees.

* * *

"We just lost the Q-Rex _and_ the Red Lion!" Jake reported and Troy pounded the console in frustration. "There's too many of them!"

"What are we going to do, Troy?" Gia asked.

Before Troy could answer, the MegaZord was knocked off it's feet. The rangers all cried out in surprise and shock and terror as the MegaZord landed _hard_ on its' back, throwing the Rangers to the back wall. Troy grimaced as he tried to climb back to the wheel, looking out the cockpit window.

Outside somewhere, Mavro's voice boomed, smug. "And now, Rangers, you have seen the price of defiance."

Two purple laser bolts came firing toward the MegaZord, and Troy threw his arms in front of his face as the world exploded around him.


	63. Help On the Way

_Moments earlier_ …

Carter squinted into the dust, searching for any sign of the Yellow Rescue Rover with his friends and his kids. Downtown was complete chaos. He looked over, caught Dana's eye as she helped triage a family of three that had come stumbling into the protected zone. At her questioning glance, he shook his head. _Nothing_.

Sirens filled the air, screaming off of what was left of downtown Harwood. Carter adjusted the strap on his fireman's helmet. His entire unit had been instructed to wear them in case of falling debris…or in case anyone had to go into a building for survivors.

If there were any.

The sirens were getting closer now, and through the smoke and haze, Carter spotted blue rescue lights atop a yellow vehicle. _The Rover!_ In the front seat, Joel was powering through the mess on the streets, being led by a man in a black leather jacket, and the Titanium Ranger. "Dana!" Carter yelled over the din, and pointed. She looked up, and looked at least partially relieved.

She picked her way over to them and her brother wrapped her in a hug. "Are you okay?" he asked her, and she nodded.

Carter turned to the man in the leather jacket and offered him a hand. "Jason Scott. Good to see you again, sir."

"Wish it was under better circumstances," Jason admitted. "I ran into your friends back there and thought I'd help them out."

"I appreciate it," Carter replied. He looked over at Joel, who was busy helping point people in the direction of the hospital with Chad and Kelsey's help. "Joel!" he yelled. "Did Orion-?"

"Up, up and away," Joel responded.

"Where's Troy and the kids?" Dana asked.

"Some crazy chick with green hair stopped us on our way in. The kids went off to help. I don't know where-" Joel broke off as downtown shook. Civilians screamed in panic and Carter and the other rangers staggered as the pavement beneath them moved. A shadow fell over their location, and Dana looked up in time to see the MegaZord falling over the top of them…then explode.

Jason swore. "What the f-"

" _Troy!"_ Dana screamed. She spun on her heel and started dashing her way through the rubble, headed toward city center where the Megazaord-or what was left of it-had landed.

"Dana!" Carter scrambled after her. Every inch of him was praying his son was okay. _He has to be_ , Carter thought. He caught up to his wife and grabbed her around the waist. "Dana, stop!"

"Let go!" she barked at him, straining to get away from him. " _Troy!_ " she yelled again, begging the cosmos that her son was all right.

Carter spun her to face him. Tears streaked her face. "What are you _doing_?" she demanded of him. "The MegaZord just _exploded_ , Carter! Exploded! Our son was in there! I need-"

"You need to calm _down_ ," Carter told her firmly.

"The hell I do!" She shoved his hands away, daring him to disagree.

"Who's Troy?" Jason whispered to Joel.

"Their son," Joel replied. "Red Power Ranger."

Jason's jaw dropped. "Their _son_?"

Joel grimaced. "Complicated family tree," he explained.

"Troy and the others will be fine. You know better than anyone what those suits can handle," Carter was saying, fighting the urge inside him to do exactly what his wife had planned on. He gestured around them. "I'm worried about him too, honey, believe me. But Troy is fine. You would feel it if he wasn't," he promised her. _I would know. We would know._

"You don't _know_ that," Dana hissed.

"You're right," he agreed. "But that's what I'm choosing to believe right now." He let go of her shoulders. "Have some faith in our son, Dana," he said. He looked around. "There are a lot of people who could use a good doctor and a lot of help right now."

Dana took several deep breaths. _Troy is fine. My son is fine._ Worry for Troy began to be replaced with the sounds of people crying and screaming for help. Dana closed her eyes. When she opened them, Carter noticed, Doctor Dana Mitchell was in. "So help me Carter, if something happened to him..." She stepped away from him and surveyed the scene. Then she started picking her way through the debris.

Carter glanced around, hoping his son would miraculously materialize. "Find us," he whispered, and then took off after his wife.

* * *

Dana made her way over to an older man in a jacket and tie who had been pinned under a steel I-beam. "Carter!" she called to her husband.

Carter met her two seconds later. "Don't worry guys," he reassured the man and his two companions who were standing anxiously nearby. "We got this." With a grunt, he wedged his shoulder under the beam, and then hefted it. "Dana, _now_ ," he growled, managing to lift it a couple of inches. Just enough so Dana pulled and the two bystanders gently rolled him out from under it. Then Carter let it drop with a yelp of pain.

Dana did a quick triage assessment of the man. "Potentially a broken hip, bruised ribs, maybe internal bleeding," she rattled off. She snapped her fingers at the two men who were still standing there. "Can you lift him?" When they nodded, she said. "Good. Gently. Find the closest medical checkpoint. Tell them Dr. Mitchell said priority one." The two men picked the older man up and Carter helped him into their arms. Then, they started toward the sounds of sirens. Carter hissed in pain and rubbed his shoulder. "Are you okay?" Dana asked.

"Yeah," he said. "It'll heal." He smiled at her. "Good job, Doc," he teased. She didn't respond, turning away to look for anyone else in need.

"Give her time," Jason said quietly from behind him.

"That's something we might not have a lot of left," Carter countered Earth's first Red Ranger, shaking his head.

* * *

A black Jeep Wrangler Sahara was speeding toward Harwood, well over the posted 75 mile per hour speed limit.

"Ambulance!" Ethan James announced, spotting it in the side mirror, and Dr. Tommy Oliver whipped the vehicle into the far right lane as the ambulance sped past, sirens and lights blazing.

"This is awful," Kira Ford said solemnly as they surveyed the surroundings. Next to her, her fiancé Trent Fernandez grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Watch it!" The vehicle's final passenger, Conner McKnight, yelled as the overpass they were speeding toward was hit by a crashing Armada ship. The concrete started to crumble, and the Dino Thunder rangers grabbed onto the roll cage of the Jeep as Tommy threw the vehicle to the side. The ship and the concrete collapsed right in front of them onto the freeway.

Tommy craned around in his seat. "Everybody okay?" he asked, looking around at his former students. They nodded shakily at him.

Ethan looked around. "Looks like as good a place as any to stop," he said dryly.

"We need to clear that debris so people can get through on this road," Conner agreed. "That ambulance barely cleared it." He grabbed the roll cage and swung out onto the highway. He shaded his eyes, looking over to the collapsed overpass and looked for any vehicles or people. "Come on, guys!" he called back. "Let's go!" He took off at a run, his soccer player stamina kicking in.

Kira looked at Trent. "Let's go." Trent hopped out of the car and held a hand out for Kira. They'd taken two steps when Trent spotted something. "Guys!" he said urgently, and pointed. Tommy, Kira and Ethan followed his gaze above the interchange. A car hung two wheels in the free air over the side. They heard a child screaming.

"I got it," Tommy said. "You guys go help Conner. And _be careful_." He hopped on top of an abandoned car and started climbing the cement and rebar chunks up to the overpass.

* * *

Down on the highway, Kira, Conner, Ethan and Trent worked to push a VW Bug out of the way of the highway so they could get to the cars that had fallen over or through. "Let's form a line!" someone suggested, and Conner glanced back to see a dark-haired man with Pacific Islander features and a red hoodie coming to join them.

"Shane?" Conner gaped. "No freakin' way!" Shane Clarke, Ninja Storm Red Ranger, was pulling away a chunk of debris away from the door of the car in front of them, and he nodded.

"With ten of us, this should go way faster," Tori Hanson added. She pulled her blonde hair back from her face and looked at Conner.

"Agreed," Conner said. "It's good to see you guys again," he added after a minute.

"Yeah, same here," Blake Bradley agreed, tossing a chunk of concrete to his brother Hunter, who threw it out of the way. "Except for the part where the world might be ending," he added as an afterthought.

* * *

Tommy nimbly made his way up the collapsed rebar, steel and concrete and onto what was left of the overpass. The car in question was hanging by its' front wheels, the back end dangling off the side. There was a gaping hole in the windshield, and Tommy could see the car was very banged up. There was no sign of the driver anywhere, Tommy guessed they hadn't been wearing a seatbelt, got ejected, and the car spun over the side. Screaming in the backseat was a little boy who couldn't have been more than seven, strapped into a booster seat in the back. "Hey," he said. "I gotcha. My name's Tommy, what's yours?"

"T-Taylor," the boy choked out.

"Taylor, okay." Tommy slid his weight a little forward and the car shifted. "It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be fine. Can you undo your seatbelt for me?"

The little boy shook his head, terrified. Tommy nodded. "Okay, no worries." He got down on his stomach and slid across the hood until his arms and head were through the broken windshield. _Man I wish I'd have asked Connor to come up here with me_. But they had their own job. "Okay, Taylor," he said aloud. "Look at me, okay?" The little boy's panicked eyes bored into his. "You're gonna look right at me, and you're gonna take your seatbelt off, got it? Don't look out the window, don't look out the windshield. Don't even look down. Just look right here." He pointed to his face.

The car tilted, and Taylor screamed. Tommy's stomach dropped. The car had to have been hanging on by a broken axle or something, he couldn't believe it hadn't gone over yet. "Taylor, it's time to go buddy. Take your seatbelt off." He injected some of what Kira called his 'teacher voice' into his tone. It seemed to work. Little hands fumbled for the seatbelt release, and it popped open. "Good deal," Tommy said. "Okay, Taylor, I'm going to crawl backwards. You're gonna follow me out. Where are you going to look?"

Taylor pointed shakily toward his eyes. "Exactly," Tommy praised him. "Okay, come on." He carefully started inching backwards out of the car, feeling the back of his shirt catch on the broken windshield. He grimaced. _If we can keep the weight in the front, we should be fine,_ he thought. He felt his knees slide off the edge of the hood, and his shoes hit ground. Taylor was in the front seat, his head poking from the broken glass. "Come on," Tommy encouraged. "Out you go." _Wish I had my Brachiostaff_ , he shook his head. It would've been a lot easier to pull him from the car that way. Taylor's head came out into the sunlight, his hands on the hood. "Almost there!"

The car bucked, and started sliding. Taylor screamed, and Tommy lunged forward, grabbing the kids' arms with his hands and pulling him forward. He landed hard on the pavement as the car slid over the side. Somewhere down below, he heard someone yell to get out of the way.

He closed his eyes and took a breath, then looked down at Taylor. The kid was buried in his shirt, and Tommy held him that way for a few minutes.

"Everything okay up here?" a voice asked, and he looked up to see Kira and Tori Hanson standing above him.

He nodded. "How 'bout down there?"

Kira grinned. "Ran into some friends of yours," she responded. Tommy picked up Taylor and glanced over the side. Along with his kids and the Ninja Storm rangers, he recognized a few other faces.

One man looked up, in a blue baseball cap flipped backwards on his head. "Thanks for almost dropping the car on us!" he yelled up.

"Yeah," added a blonde woman in a pink t-shirt. "It's nice to see you too!"

Tommy waved. "Hey Justin, hi Kat," he called down.

"Don't 'hi Kat' me," Katherine Hilliard yelled back up at him. "Get down here and give us a hand! It's the least you can do after almost dropping a car on us!"

Tommy grinned. "Yes ma'am," he replied.

* * *

"Where are we on clearing these buildings?" Carter asked his boss, Ray Price. The older man looked exhausted, and Carter knew he'd been up for almost twenty-four hours. Carter handed him a bottle of water he'd picked up off a pallet dropped by the hospital and Ray downed half of it at once. "We've got men, there, and there," he said. He pointed ahead. "Bank Tower still needs to be checked and cleared, but I don't know how stable it is. That giant robot thing hit the top levels."

"It's got earthquake mass dampers built in," Carter remembered. "It should be fairly stable." He looked at Jason. "How do you feel about doing some search-and-rescue?"

Jason saw something past Carter's head and held up a finger. "I'm good, but let me check with the other half," he said, brushing past the Lightspeed Ranger. A woman in a pink denim jacket and jeans was standing with a shorter African-American man with a short buzz cut. "'Bout time," he teased them both.

"Traffic was murder," Zack Taylor shrugged. He gave Jason a hug. "But we managed."

"Are you okay?" Kimberly Hart asked Jason, running her hands up and down his arms. "This is unreal," she whispered. "I can't believe it."

"I'm glad you guys got here okay. Have you heard anything from anybody else in Angel Grove?" Jason kept a good grip on Kim's hand, which was trembling uncontrollably.

Kim nodded. "Adam, Rocky and Tanya should be here, if they can get through. I heard someone say one of the overpasses on the highway collapsed, so people have to detour."

"Carter Grayson asked if I'd go check out a building with some of the other firefighters," Jason told them. He pointed to the Bank Tower. "Are you guys okay down here?"

"No problem," Zack replied. He glanced around. "Pretty sure we can get put to work elsewhere," he noted solemnly.

"Be careful," Kim warned Jason. "Don't make me come in there after you."

Jason ran his hand through her hair. "I'll be fine," he promised. With that, he returned to Carter, and noted the former Red Ranger had amassed an interesting volunteer team. Also standing with him where Cassie and TJ Johnson the two former Turbo and Space Rangers. "TJ. How the hell are you, man?"

"Been better," TJ replied, shaking Jason's hand. "Carter tells me we're gonna go search that building," he said, pointing.

"Well, it's no Serpenterra," Jason shrugged with a sly smile, "but I think we can handle it."

* * *

_Mirinoi_

"You're gonna wear a hole in the floor," Mike Corbett told Orion with a grin, watching the young man pace the cement floor of the spaceport. Even as he said it, though, he couldn't help but glance down at his own watch for what seemed like the tenth time in as many minutes.

"How long did they say it would take?" Orion asked Kai, who was sitting in front of a console, intently watching the data streaming across the screen.

"Not long," Kai said with a smile.

"That's what you said five minutes ago," Orion mumbled, and Mike laughed, trying to cover it up with a cough.

Kai tapped the top of the console. "It's a little tricky, but don't worry. The signal was strong and-" he broke off as the console started to beep. He grinned, and the other Galaxy Rangers stood as a ship broke atmo and gently settled down on the tarmac. "And here's our ride," he finished.

Leo's grip tightened around the Quasar Sabre. "Last chance, everyone." He looked from Damon to Maya, Mike to Kai and Karone. "If you want to stay behind…now's your chance."

"No way," Damon replied instantly.

"We're with you," Maya replied.

The door to the gold and red ship that had just arrived opened, and a human figure stepped out. Older, with blonde hair graying at the temples, wearing glasses, khakis and a blue button down.

"Good afternoon," he greeted the group. "You're the Galaxy Rangers?"

Leo nodded. "Is Aurico with you?"

The new arrival tossed a thumb back inside the ship. "Inside, working on resetting the drive matrix. He's the better traveled of Delphine's group so he knows more about it. You're Leo?" When Leo nodded, he continued, "Let's get moving. I get the feeling we may not have much time left."

"Please don't say that," Orion whispered, and Maya squeezed his hand reassuringly.

The man looked at Orion apologetically. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to dishearten you. One must always have hope, of course." He smiled. "Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. I'm Billy Cranston." He stepped out of the doorway so the Galaxy Rangers could board. "Let's get back to Earth, shall we?"

Orion followed Damon and Karone up into the ship. _If there's an Earth to go back to_ , he thought worriedly.


	64. Never Give Up

"I'm fine," Chad Lee promised his wife. "We're downtown in a safe zone." He paused, listening to Rachel for a few moments. "I don't know, honey. We haven't heard from the kids at all…." He looked up at the building that moments ago, his friends had just gone into. "It's going to be okay," he said after a beat. "I'll be home soon. I love you, too." He hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket before turning to Kelsey and Ryan.

"Okay, I'm tired of just sitting here. I need to go do something."

Kelsey looked around. "I saw a bunch of water back there," she said, hooking a thumb behind her. "Let's go grab it, pass it out."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Ryan said. The three of them made their way over to the stack of twelve packs and Chad hefted one on his shoulder. "Let's start over there," Ryan suggested.

Shots rang out and the three rangers froze. "Sounds like the Armada tried to breach this position again," Kelsey guessed.

"I forget that while we're safe here, there's a bunch of people out there hiding, or rounded up," Chad said.

"Don't worry," Kelsey said, putting a hand on her friend's arm. "I'm sure Troy and the kids are out there right now, coming our way."

"And there's a bunch of other rangers coming," Ryan added.

Chad set down the water and ripped it open. He handed a bottle to a man in a bright yellow t-shirt. "Here you go," he said, handing it to him.

"Thank you." The man's accent was Pakistani. He downed half of it in one gulp. "Do you know…has anyone heard from the Rangers?"

The question turned several heads toward the three of them. Chad looked to Ryan and Kelsey. Then, Chad shook his head. "No. Nothing yet."

"The Pink Ranger saved my life once," the man in the yellow t-shirt said. He smiled sadly. "She knew my name."

"You know," a man with glasses said, standing and accepting a bottle from Kelsey, "one of my students told me once that humans will survive because when we work together, we can overcome anything." He twisted the top off the bottle and paused before drinking it. "Things seem very dark right now, very dark indeed. But I believe in what that student said." He looked around. "We all should."

* * *

The structure groaned and Cassie Johnson froze for a moment before following her husband up the stairs of the Bank Tower. "God, this place could come down any second," she whispered.

"We'll be out of here long before that happens," TJ assured her. He pushed open the emergency exit door and stepped onto the floor. The carpet was strewn with chunks of concrete and pieces of glass. A potted plant had overturned and dirt was spilled everywhere. TJ stepped over the planter and Cassie grabbed his arm.

"Hey," she said. "Listen."

TJ paused. Then, he heard it. A thudding sound, and muffled cries. "That way, I think," he said. He reached for the little Motorola walkie-talkie that Carter had handed him before they went in. "Hey Jase, Carter, Cassie and I got something on the…fourth floor."

" _Copy that_ ," Carter's voice crackled back. " _I'll send some EMTs your way."_

"Okay." TJ stepped up to the elevator door and looked at the numbers. The numbers between four and five were both lit up. "Electrical malfunction," he guessed. "It's stuck between floors."

Cassie reached around him and pulled on one side of the door, wedging her fingers into the crack. After a grunt of frustration, she let go. "The doors are stuck."

"I have an idea." TJ pulled the walkie out again. "Carter, is there a way to access the elevator shaft?"

He waited, hoping Carter had heard him. Then, someone else answered, " _This is Ray, Carter's boss. There's a maintenance hatch on the floor above you. If you can get to it, you could get on top of the elevator that way."_

The building groaned again. Cassie heard the people inside scream. "Let's go," she suggested, and she and TJ ran back for the stairs. TJ hit the fifth floor first and spotted the door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. He looked at Cassie, who nodded. Then, he gave it a forceful front kick, splintering it. He reached through the hole and unlocked it. "Here!" he said, pointing to a smaller grated hatch amid the tools and cleaning supplies. "Is there a screwdriver in this mess?" he called to Cassie, who started rummaging through the supplies.

Below them, they could hear screaming and crying through the grating. "No screwdriver," Cassie complained, and swore. Then, she grinned. "Oh, I have an idea," she said, shoving a hand into her pocket. She triumphantly pulled out a quarter. "Will this work?" she asked, handing it to him.

TJ looked at the flat screws. "Perfect," he said. "Though this'll take a little bit."

"Teej?" Jason Scott's voice rang out on the floor.

"Here!" Cassie yelled back, and Jason poked his head in the door. "How's it coming?"

"Slow," TJ groaned, managing to finally pop one of the screws loose. He grabbed either side of the corner and yanked on it hard. The grating groaned, but didn't pull free from the wall. "I'm gonna need at least another corner."

"Slide over," Jason instructed Cassie, and she slid back so he could stand by TJ. "Count of three," Jason said, shrugging out of his jacket. "One."

TJ curled his fingers around the side of the grate as Jason took the top. "Two."

"Three!" Jason and TJ pulled at the same time and the grating buckled and bent, not pulling away completely, but enough so that they could wedge their way into the space. "Okay," Jason said, breathing hard. "I'll work on getting this all the way off. You and Cass go down there and get those people out.

"Okay." Jason pulled the grate as far from the wall as he could and TJ slipped through, dropping about three feet down to the elevator car. His weight made the car rock, and people screamed. "It's okay!" he called down. "We're gonna get you outta there."

Cassie dropped down beside him and opened the escape hatch on the top of the car. "Don't worry," she reassured them. "We're going to get you out of there. Take my hand." She reached down for the first person she saw, a woman with red hair. The woman gripped her hand and TJ steadied Cassie as she pulled the woman out with help from the two men in the car with her. "Jason!" Cassie yelled. "How we doing?"

Her answer was the sound of metal being ripped free from the plaster. Then, Jason poked his head through with a thumbs up. "We're good!"

* * *

Jordan Rogers stood with his parents and Corey Gordon as his father lit a piece of newspaper on fire with his lighter and dropped it into the trash barrel. The newspaper flickered and then it caught the other trash in the bin. It smoked, but stayed lit. "Hopefully those metal things can't see this from the street," his father was saying. Jordan looked around. They were hiding in a bombed-out building along with about ten other people. Outside the walls, they could hear sirens, screaming, and laser bolts.

Jordan shivered. This was insane. He'd thought trying to take on that bug thing last year was the most terrifying thing he could think of doing…and then there was all this. One minute, shooting hoops with Corey, the next, trying to stay hidden from metal robots who were taking over their city.

A panicked voice interrupted his thoughts. " _Mikey?"_

"That sounds like a kid," Corey whispered to Jordan.

Jordan nodded in agreement, but no _way_ was he going out there. Across from him, a redhaired man in a dirty yellow hoodie stood up and brushed himself off, crossing the room to look out the slats on the building's windows as the others moved to hide the light. "What are you _doing_?" Jordan's father hissed.

"There's a kid out there," the man said.

"Making enough noise to bring the entire sky full of ships down here," another man countered.

The guy raised an eyebrow. "So, what? You're telling me to leave him?" He looked at them in challenge. "I'm going after that kid," he said. "I tell you what, you stay here, that way we won't draw attention to ourselves." The last part, Jordan noted, was heavy on the sarcasm.

"I'll go with you," Jordan heard himself volunteer. "When we find whoever he's looking for, they might need help."

"The hell you will," his father informed him.

"Someone told me once that I could help the world by being myself. And right now," Jordan moved to the side of the red-haired guy, "myself is going out there to help." With that, he and the other man ducked out into the fading sunlight.

"Nice speech," the man commented as the two of them rounded a corner. "Who told you that?"

"The Power Rangers," Jordan replied, and the answer brought the man up short. "A long time ago, I tried to pretend I was one of them," he admitted. "They called me out. And the Pink Ranger, she told me that maybe the best way I could help the world was by being myself instead of someone else."

The man in yellow laughed softly. "Yeah, Pink Rangers have some pretty good advice sometimes," he confirmed. "Our coast is clear. Let's go. You said your name was Jordan?"

"Yeah," Jordan said. "Jordan Rogers. What's yours?"

"Chip Thorn. Come on, I think I can hear that kid down this way." Chip moved to go down the alley, spotted a teenage kid a little younger than Jordan. He sprinted up behind him and clamped a hand over his mouth. The kid thrashed. "Hey, we're here to help you, man. But if you don't stop yelling, you're gonna bring every one of those metal things on our heads. Who are you looking for?"

"M-my dog," the kid admitted. "He's a black Lab."

"You're looking for your _dog?"_ Jordan asked incredulously. He looked at Chip. "We're risking our lives for a dog!"

Chip was quiet, ignoring Jordan's outburst, and listening. A moment later, he went over to a storm sewer pipe, partially covered by large chunks of what he thought might be parts of a Ford pickup. "Give me a hand," he instructed the two boys. Jordan and the kid came over and the three of them hauled the front half of the truck out of the way. "Sometimes, it's little things like this that make you a hero," he told Jordan. "Now come on, help me get him out of there."

Several agonizing minutes later after they'd coaxed the dog out of the sewer pipe, Chip looked at Jordan, who was breathless but smiling. "How's it feel to be his hero?" he asked Jordan, thumbing over at where the younger boy was hugging his dog.

"Pretty good," Jordan replied, and meant it. _If the Power Rangers could see me now…_

* * *

Halfway across town, Troy Grayson woke up with a start. _What the hell happened_? He gave himself a field assessment. Nothing felt broken. He realized, as he tried to move, that he'd landed on a corner of something granite. The suit must have taken most of the impact. If it'd been just him, the chunk plus the impact probably would've cut him in half. _Thank God for Spandex_ , Jake's teasing voice said in his head, and Troy rolled off the piece of rock and got up painfully. _Jake. The others._ Had they survived the fall?

* * *

Not far from the downtown safety zone, Emma Goodall opened her eyes to see fire. "Oh!" She scrambled to her feet, amazed that she was even standing. The fire was coming from the under the hood of an overturned Harwood PD cruiser. The Pink Ranger took in her surroundings. Debris everywhere. Smoke, and fire. She wrapped her arms around her midsection, not even noticing the gash in her left arm.

"Emma."

The voice was so quiet at first, she thought she must have imagined it. But when it said her name again, louder, she turned to see Gia climbing out of the rubble of what used to be someone's house. Her best friend was alive, and in one piece, save for several holes and burns in her black jacket and jeans. The two picked their way over the mess and hugged tightly. "Any sign of the others?" Emma asked, her mind thinking of Troy. She didn't see him…but he had to be close. She hoped.

* * *

"Somebody help me!"

Jake Holling limped his way toward the yelling voice. He'd spotted an Armada foot patrol a block down or so and hoped that they were on a mission heading the opposite direction. He came around the corner and saw, _oh, thank God, I can't believe it_ , Noah Carver. He was lying on the street, a large chunk of what looked like a roof on his lower leg. "Noah!" Jake yelled in a whisper. "I'm coming, man, hang on."

"Jake?" Noah couldn't believe his eyes.

"Hold still," Jake told him, lifting with his legs and straining. "Can you move?"

"Yeah," Noah gritted his teeth and slid out from under it. Jake let it drop with a hard thunk. He sank down next to Noah. "Next time, it's your turn to save me," Jake said hoarsely, closing his eyes.

"What, and stop this good thing we've got going?" Noah teased him back. "No way." His smile faded. "Any sign of the others?"

Jake shook his head. "You're the first person I've found." He pulled out his battered morpher. "I wasn't sure this thing even worked anymore. Haven't heard Gosei, or Tensou, or anybody."

"Try it again," Noah urged him.

Jake held up the morpher. "Anybody out there? Gosei? Troy?" He waited a moment. "Gia?"

There was silence, and Jake let his hand fall to his lap. "What if it's just us?" he asked Noah.

"No way," Noah said. "The others are out there," he declared. "We have to go find them."

* * *

The Wild Force and Time Force teams straggled into a survivor's camp a few miles down the road from where they'd been watching the MegaZord fight. It had taken a long time for Taylor and Alyssa to comfort and calm down a raging Eric and Cole. The girls understood; losing the Zords had been like losing a part of the family. The mood was very dejected as the teams took seats around the fire. Some of the survivors around the campfires passed around bags of chips and other snack food items, probably looted, but at that point, the law enforcer in Wes and Eric didn't care.

Everyone sat in silence. "The planet is done for," someone said after a few minutes.

"I can't believe the rangers are gone," someone else added.

"You don't know that," a woman countered. "Maybe they survived."

"Please," someone else scoffed. "You saw that thing they were in blow apart."

"Those suits are stronger than you think," Danny Delgado argued, earning him several looks of 'shush' from his teammates. "You have to believe in them."

"Rangers never give up," Max said with a small smile.


	65. A New Hope

Troy ran as fast as he could, ducking down a side street and sliding over the remains of a burned-out car. Behind him, he could hear X-Borgs. The skies were dark now; fitting, considering everything. He juked left and ran through what remained of a mini mart, sliding behind the front counter and sucking in his breath.

The X-Borgs' mechanical whine grew closer. Stopped just outside the front door, torn off its' hinges by the initial blast of the Armada. Troy didn't dare stick his head over the counter. He lay still, trying to keep his breathing quiet and controlled.

The X-Borgs stopped. Troy closed his eyes. _Don't stop. Keep going_. He didn't have the strength to fight them, not on his own. _Please, keep going._

After what seemed like an eternity, they moved on. Troy waited until he couldn't hear them anymore before he got up and ran in the opposite direction.

" _People of Earth, hear me!"_

Troy froze as the gravelly voice of Emperor Mavro echoed down the buildings, filling his ears. He kept running, trying to outrun the sound, but everywhere he went, it was booming through the streets.

" _I am Mavro, Emperor of the Armada. We control this entire galaxy. Only you and your Power Rangers dare to resist us. It's over. We've won. Your Rangers have been destroyed."_

"That's….what you think," Troy breathed as he ran, jumping over an overturned newspaper vending machine. "I'm still standing."He prayed the others were too.

Mavro wasn't finished with his victory speech. " _You are all next. You have one last night to savor your despair. You will regret defying us. Tomorrow at dawn, we are coming back to finish you."_

Troy rounded a corner and barely registered the foot flying at his face before he ducked it at the last second. "Whoa!" He dodged and came up on the defensive, only to see Gia and Emma standing in front of him, Gia's foot poised to take another whack at him.

" _Troy!_ " Emma threw her arms around him, nearly knocking him over, burying her face in his shoulder. Troy kissed the top of her head and gestured for Gia to join the hug.

"I can't believe it. You guys are okay!" he breathed, relieved.

"I thought I'd never…that you…" Emma could hardly finish the sentence.

Gia looked over the top of Emma's head at Troy. "Earth's defenders never surrender," she said wearily. When the three of them finally let go, Troy's hands were still shaking.

"Any sign of Jake or Noah?" he asked the girls, but they shook their heads.

"We've been dodging X-Borgs," Gia said. "I tried calling Jake, but…" She took a breath and let it out slowly, trying to keep from crying. "Did you hear Mavro?" she asked him.

Troy nodded. "Yeah. He thinks it's over."

"Isn't it?" Gia asked. "No Zords…no Orion…no plan…"

"As long as I'm still standing," Troy replied, "it isn't finished. Not by a long shot." He rubbed Emma's back. "We should find a place to hang out for the night."

"I hope Jake and Noah are okay," Emma whispered.

* * *

The three of them made their way through downtown. Amazingly, Mavro had recalled all the X-Borgs. Downtown was eerily silent, the only noise coming from emergency vehicles and the thin and tired voices of those who hadn't been rounded up and were coming out of the woodwork now that the soldiers had retreated. About a block away, the three Rangers stumbled on a camp below what remained of the freeway entrance to downtown.

"I don't believe it," someone said in the crowd. A moment later, Jake and Noah exploded from their spots by the burning fires and the five Megaforce Rangers were together again. After many hugs and reassurances, the five of them sat down together by a barrel.

Troy's morpher crackled to life. " _Troy. Are you out there?"_

Noah swore. " _Tensou?!"_

" _I can't believe it!"_ the little robot's voice chimed. " _You're all alive!"_ The relief in the little bots' voice made them smile, despite it all. " _We haven't been able to reach you since the Armada scrambled all the signals, but then they left and, you're okay!"_

Troy stared into the flames. "Yeah, no thanks to Gosei," he said. "Our darkest hour, and he hasn't said a word."

" _He's scared_ ," Tensou chirped.

"Oh really," Jake snorted. "He can join the club."

" _Don't be too mad,"_ Tensou begged them. " _He really is glad you're okay."_

"When he's ready, he can tell us that himself," Troy replied. He glanced around, saw two people coming toward them. "Tensou, we gotta go." He cut the link, and turned to see a man and woman coming toward them. The man wore a red NASADA polo and the woman was in jeans and t-shirt with a yellow 93 on it.

"How are you guys doing?" the woman asked them. "Need anything?"

"We're okay," Troy told them. "Thank you."

"We just want you to know…" she looked at the man and he nodded, "we're rooting for you, Rangers."

"How-?" Troy couldn't place these two for the life of him. _But then it's been a long day, so…_

"Your dad's been passing around your picture all day," the man said. "Even without it, we'd have recognized you. There's a lot of your dad in you, kid." He offered a hand. "I'm Andros. This is Ashley."

"Space Rangers," Noah said, the faces finally registering.

"We were in your shoes once," Ashley told them. She waved a hand around. "It was almost exactly like this. But people believed in us." She pointed at the group. "They believe in you."

"Wish it were that easy," Jake muttered, poking the fire with a splinter of wood. Gia rested her head on his shoulder. "We've got no Zords. We're outnumbered, out-armored."

"And yet even when it seems the darkest," Andros told them, "there's always hope." He smiled at Troy. "We'll pass word up the grapevine that you're okay. Your parents will be relieved."

"Thank you," Troy told Andros. "For more than just letting my parents know I'm okay."

Andros nodded. "No problem. Just know-Troy, right?" Troy nodded. "We're here for you too. " He glanced sidelong at Ashley. "All of us."

Troy looked around the circle. At Noah, at Emma, at Gia and Jake. The four of them each gave him a nod in turn. A silent agreement. That tomorrow, when Mavro came for Earth…Earth wasn't going anywhere without a fight.

* * *

_Above Earth_

"Now entering Earthspace- _hold on!"_ Delphine and Aurico pulled the ship to the right, throwing Orion and the Galaxy Rangers off balance. They narrowly avoided a grouping of Armada ships.

"Well, that was quite the entrance," Zhane, the Silver Space Ranger announced dryly as Aurico righted the ship. He glanced back at his sister. "I'm _so_ glad you called me along for this," he told Karone sarcastically.

"I never said it would be boring," Karone countered with a wry smile. "Besides, you love to make an entrance, as I recall."

"Everyone knows we're here," Corcus agreed, running a hand over his helmet. He popped his visor to look at their guests. "Everybody okay?" he asked.

"More or less," Billy groaned. "I'm getting too old for this."

"Well, this is a perfect time to get back in the groove, as the Earthlings say," Tideus joked. "We've got incoming."

"Strap yourselves in," Delphine instructed.

"This ship isn't too different from the Astro MegaShip," Kai noted, surveying the bridge. "Maybe we can help. You need a few extra hands on battle stations?"

Aurico exchanged a look with Delphine. "It couldn't hurt," Aurico told her.

"Excellent." Kai took a position next to Tideus and Damon stepped up near Corcus. "Let's do this."

The Alien Rangers' ship began its' descent toward Earth, weaving through the Armada ships as much as the bigger ship could do. Alarms blared. "Two coming, six o'clock low!" Mike turned to Leo as he read the radar.

"Maya, Karone, Orion, grab onto something," Leo instructed, reaching for the safety handles on either side of the seat he was currently occupying. The ship shuddered. "Shields at 90%," Delphine reported. "Whatever they've got is strong."

"We can make it," Orion gritted his teeth. "We _have_ to."

"We're almost there, kid," Leo assured him. "Aurico, how much farther?"

"Atmo break in ninety seconds," Aurico yelled back as the ship rocked with another hit.

"Damn, these guys are like Clint Eastwood," Damon hissed.

The ship rocked again. "Port engine two is out," Corcus announced grimly. "Shields at 75%." He looked at Delphine. "We can't take much more."

"Put everything into the heat shields and engines," Delphine commanded. The White Ranger's voice was steady, but Billy knew if they could see under the visor, her face would be creased with worry. Tideus and Corcus followed her instructions. Aurico banked the ship hard left, and bolts of purple energy went whizzing past, blinding in the nav screen.

"Atmo break!" Aurico announced just as Cestro yelled, "Starboard engine one flameout."

"Shields at 40%," Corcus reported. He looked back. "Brace yourselves," he said. "This is gonna be a rough landing."

* * *

Troy heard the low rumble of an engine, heard several people scream in terror as a ship came bursting over the city, engines on fire and taking hits from the Armada. The ship blew threw the buildings and came up sideways on the side of the freeway, spraying the people below with bits of concrete, dirt and debris.

"What _now_?" Gia demanded.

"Let's go find out," Troy said.

"We've got this down here," Ashley told them as she and Andros turned, making their way back to the main group of folks.

The five rangers scrambled up the embankment. "That's _not_ an Armada ship," Noah noted instantly.

"They were shooting at it," Jake said. "I don't know what that means, but…"

The side door popped off the ship, tumbling down the side. Through the cloud of dust, Troy made out a glimmer of silver. Then, a familiar looking figure in a shiny silver jacket took a few running steps down the hill and threw himself at Troy.

"You're alive!"

"Orion!" Troy coughed. "No way!"

Orion grinned. "I _told_ you I'd make it back," he said. Then, he snapped his fingers. "Oh! And I brought a few friends!" He looked back at the ship as more people came stumbling out. Five rangers in Red, White, Black, Yellow and Blue, and six more behind them, not in uniform, but Rangers nonetheless.

"The Alien Rangers!" Noah grinned. "All right!"

Troy instantly recognized the man with the brown hair in the jeans jacket. "Leo!" he yelled, waving. "No way!"

Leo met the teen with a hug and a laugh of surprise. "Geez, kid, last time I saw you, you were still in diapers!" He looked at Mike. "Mike, this is Carter Grayson's kid."

"Oh yeah," Mike nodded. "I can see it, especially in the eyes."

"Galaxy Rangers," Noah breathed. "And-oh, my God." He pushed his glasses up on his nose and gaped at the man in blue with the glasses. "No _way_."

"Um," Jake muttered, "for those of us who _don't_ have the Ranger database memorized?" He punched Noah lightly in the shoulder. It snapped Noah back as the younger man reached forward to shake hands with-

"Billy Cranston," Noah said. "You were the _original_ Blue Ranger!"

Billy shuffled his feet and glanced over at Delphine. He was sure she was smirking behind the visor. "Nice to meet a fan," he replied.

" _Zhane!"_

The whole group turned to see Andros and Ashley climbing the hill. They blew past the Megaforce rangers and wrapped their arms around the blonde Ranger with spiky hair. "Man, is it good to see you again," Andros told him. "It's been forever."

"All this love for him and none for me?" Karone teased gently from her place beside her husband. Andros looked at her and grinned. "Of course, some for you," he assured her, pulling her into a tight hug. "You look great."

"Your nephew says hello," she told him. "Hi, Ashley."

"Hi yourself," Ashley said with a grin.

The introductions and greetings over, Billy turned to Troy. "As you're the one in Red, I'm assuming you're the leader of Earth's current team of Rangers?"

Troy nodded slowly. It was…humbling, to be in the presence of two great Red Rangers and one of Earth's original chosen team. "I-uh, yeah," he stammered.

"Well then," Billy said. "What's our plan of attack?"

Troy glanced around at the group of people standing around him. Beside him, he felt Emma rest her head on his arm and smile up at him. He grinned.

"We fight back."


	66. Reunions

Dana Mitchell-Grayson wasn't sure what woke her first. Too many things happened at once. For starters, dawn broke over the city, and her heavy-lidded eyes could start to make out the scenes of destruction again in the daylight. Walls of police barricades and sandbags kept the hospital fortified like an island in a flood. She noticed several officers in full tactical gear taking up positions on the walls. She sat up and realized Carter was no longer with her. She'd been upset with him yesterday but true to form, her husband was right there when she fell asleep, exhausted after the events of the day before. Her sleep had been restless, mixed images from the battle against Bansheera mixed in with a Megazord falling to the ground, her son being thrown from it… _Troy._ Thinking of her son physically _hurt_. _You have to be alive, Troy. If you're not, this battle isn't worth fighting. Not that I won't try, for you, but I can't imagine life here without you._

Her brother went running by her and Dana climbed to her feet, leaving her heels on the ground as she caught up to Ryan and Kelsey, who were both back behind the police line. "What's happening?" she asked Ryan. Her little brother turned and his face was etched with worry. She noticed he had a firm grip on Kelsey's hand.

Ryan's voice was terse when he answered. "They're coming."

Dana's fingers drifted over her morpher, sitting snug on her right wrist. "How many?"

"Too many," Carter's voice told her from behind. Her husband came to stand next to them with Jason Scott, Zack Taylor and TJ Johnson in tow.

"We need to hold the line," Jason's voice was firm as he slipped back into the role of Red Ranger once again. "Anybody who can morph, needs to," he added, looking down the line at the people coming to join them. Joel and Chad. Cassie. Kimberly. "And anybody who can fight…well," he glanced around, "don't stop."

"They're not getting past us," Zack promised.

"Hell no," Joel agreed, his suit appearing as the other Lightspeed Rangers followed his lead.

A low mechanical grinding filtered off the buildings left standing in downtown. The smoke and the haze was too thick to make out anything, which only made it worse for the civilians left to huddle in the hospital, wondering what was coming for them. Wondering if the Rangers who had been protecting their city for so long….were gone. If Earth's last hope was gone.

Carter Grayson clenched a white-gloved first as the metal sounds grew louder. _Troy…please be out there, buddy. We need you, your mom and I…and everybody else._ Fingers interlaced with his, and he looked next to him to see Dana, morphed, her hand in his. He knew she was thinking the same thing.

Then, they came through the smoke. A green-eyed, red skinned Armada leader with a street packed with X-Borgs. "Hope you all had a good night!" it sneered.

Dana muttered a hot response under her breath, making Carter chuckle, despite it all. _My sentiments exactly_.

The police officers and Army Guard leveled their weapons at him, holding the line. "You _still_ think you can stand against us?" The Armada general sounded amused. "Take aim!" he commanded, and the X-Borgs trained their own weapons on the barricades and the Rangers.

"Nobody gets past us," Carter murmured as he and Chad lowered themselves into defensive stances, Carter's V-Lancer and Chad's blue MegaBattle aimed outward.

"This is it," Kimberly whispered, felt Jason grab her hand. "I'd kill for a Power Coin right about now."

Laser bolts split the smoke and behind the helmet, Carter closed his eyes, waiting for the shower of sparks and the pain of the hit.

It took him a moment to realize that he hadn't been hit and instead, the Armada general was screeching in some alien tongue. A line of X-Borgs were on the ground, smoke and strange alien blood mixing in the morning air.

"What...just happened?" Damon Henderson asked as the Galaxy Rangers, Alien Rangers, Billy, Karone, Ashley, and Andros all arrived at the barricade. "What'd we miss?"

Someone yelled, "Up there!"

Carter Grayson whirled, with the instinct to fire, but stopped short when he saw what was standing on the entryway roof of the hospital. He nearly dropped his blaster.

Six Power Rangers, in Red, Black, Yellow, Pink, Blue and Silver, a pirate skull and crisscrossed sabres on the chest.

"It's the Power Rangers!" one of the cops yelled with a whoop.

 _Oh, my God. I can't believe it!_ "Troy!" he yelled.

* * *

Above the barricade, Troy and the others let their smoking pistols fall to the side. Troy saw his mom and dad and the other Lightspeed Rangers below him, and he gave his dad a salute with his pistol. The six of them jumped down into the safety zone and were immediately mobbed by the crowd of Rangers and civilians.

Not caring if anyone saw, Troy threw his arms around his mom and dad and staggered as Ryan and Kelsey also met him in a crushing hug. They didn't speak, but Troy could feel how happy they were that he was alive and well. Ryan added Orion into the mix, snagging the Silver Ranger away from Leo and the Galaxy Rangers and enveloping him in the family hug.

"Billy?" Kimberly's jaw dropped as she embraced the original Blue Ranger. Zack and Jason, both grinning, gave their fellow Ranger a side hug. "I can't _believe_ it! How-?"

"That answer is very long and very scientific," Billy replied, adjusting his glasses. He smiled. "We'll call it a miracle, and leave it at that."

"Almost like old times," Kimberly said wistfully, and the four of them went silent, wishing for another miracle to bring their final teammate.

The moment was cut abruptly by the Armada general, who seemed to have gotten over his shock at seeing the Megaforce Rangers alive and well.

"You pests are _still_ around?"

Troy reluctantly stepped back as the Megaforce team regrouped. "You're damn right," Troy told him, stepping forward with his team. "This planet is _ours_ ," Troy yelled back at him, eliciting a cheer from everyone present.

"You really think you have a chance?" The general sounded amused as he glanced up and down his line of X-Borgs.

Troy mirrored the movement, looking at his team to the left and right. Jake, Gia, Noah, Emma and Orion all gave him a nod. "There's no doubt at all!"

"Say it!" Gia ordered him, and Troy grinned behind his visor.

"Earth's defenders-"

" _Never_ surrender!" Gia, Jake, Orion, Emma and Noah chorused along with him.

Emma turned to the crowd. "Get somewhere safe," she told them.

"Let us handle that," Carter replied. "We've got this. You handle _that_ ," he said, nodding to the general and the wave of X-Borgs standing over them.

"With pleasure," Troy hissed. "Time to clean house." With that, he and the others charged into battle to the sounds of civilians clapping and cheering for them.

* * *

Leo and Aurico came over to Carter, who was still standing defensively at the barrier in case the X-Borgs decided to shoot at them instead of Troy and the kids. "I feel like there's been stuff you haven't told me?" Leo asked him. Carter turned to them and winked under his visor, knowing Leo couldn't see it.

"You haven't called," Carter grinned as Dana joined him, V-Lancer drawn. He pointed in the direction Troy had gone. "That's our son."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Okay then."


	67. Sacrifices

The rangers chased the alien general to a rooftop near the hospital. Gia brandished both sabres and crouched low. "Ready to slice and dice," she told Troy, who stood next to her, his blasters leveled.

"We need to keep the fight up here, or out there," Troy said, pointing away from the hospital. "If we can keep it out of there, the Lightspeed Rangers and the others can handle what's down there and expand the safe zone."

"We're ready," Jake confirmed. He exchanged a fist bump with Noah.

"After, you, oh Fearless Leader," Emma teased her boyfriend.

"Let's kick it old school," Orion suggested. He twirled his Silver Spear in one hand as he pulled his Ranger key with the other. "Legendary Sixth Ranger Mode. Mighty Morphin' White Ranger!" His spear disappeared, replaced with a deadly-looking dagger in white with a tiger head on the handle.

"Yeah, all right. I'm in!" Troy took out his own key. "Legendary Ranger…Mighty Morphin' Red Ranger!" He aimed the tip of his sword at the alien general. "First you, then all your friends."

The general scoffed. "New uniform give you some newfound confidence?" he taunted them.

Troy shook his head. "It's been with us all along." He turned to see the others in the same uniform scheme, and with a yell, he charged forward, swinging the sword in a wide arc. The general backed away, but staggered forward as Emma got behind him with her Power Bow and fired a few bolts into his back, driving him back into the fight. Gia got a boost from Jake and came in with furious swipes of her daggers. The general batted her away and sent a burst of energy flying their direction. The six of them rolled out of the way and before they could come back up to attack again, a voice rang out over the rooftops.

" _I've waited long enough! This planet will fall! My patience has reached its' end. And so have you!"_

From the sky above, laser fire rained down and rockets drove into buildings as Troy and his team took cover. The rooftop shook. The alien general couldn't dodge from a rocket in time and they watched him explode in a hail of smoke and laser fire.

"We gotta do something about those airships!" Emma gasped.

"I have a promise to keep," Troy growled, his eyes trained skyward. He looked over at Orion, crouched near an HVAC unit. "Up for a short flight?"

"You're not the only one with a score to settle," Orion agreed. "Just one problem-how are we getting up there?" He poked his head out from the air conditioning vent he was crouched behind, and dove back when a chunk of the building next door landed dangerously close to his head.

"Noah!" Troy looked around for the Blue Ranger, who was currently hunkered down next to the roof ledge. "You've got the database memorized-anything for us?"

"Your dad's friend Leo," Noah said instantly. "Lost Galaxy. They've got these things called Jet Jammers."

"Excellent." Troy turned to Orion. "Let's-"

"They didn't have one for their Sixth Ranger though," Noah cut in quickly.

Troy's mouth snapped shut and he glanced sideways at Noah. "Well, I guess only you're going," Orion quipped.

"Noah…" Troy pressed.

Noah put a gloved hand up to make Troy wait. "I'm digging through like 20 years worth of database!" Noah protested. "Give me a sec!"

Another rocket rained down, hitting the building across the street and making their shudder. "Think faster, man!" Jake urged.

Noah snapped his fingers. "Space Rangers. Morph, call for the Galaxy Gliders!"

Another rocket rocked the building. Troy turned to Gia and Emma. "Can you guys handle this on your own?"

"We got this," Gia assured him firmly.

To Troy's surprise, Emma popped her helmet off and grabbed his arm. She looked him right in the eye, either hand on the sides of his helmet.

"Be careful. And come back," she begged him.

Troy lifted his hands to cover hers and pull them down to his chest. "Promise," he told her. He squeezed her hands as he stood up, Orion coming to stand next to him. "Okay. Ready?" Troy asked his brother.

Orion shrugged. "Um, more or less," he said.

Troy groaned. "Dude. So not encouraging." Their diamond-outlined suites reverted back to the pirate ones, and the two of them instantly remorphed, Troy into the red-helmeted Lost Galaxy Red Ranger, and Orion into the silver Space Ranger.

"Jet Jammer!"

"Galaxy Glider, Hang Ten!"

The two vehicles appeared on the rooftop and they climbed aboard. With a two-fingered wave, the two boys lifted off into the air, narrowly dodging another rocket, and speeding skyward toward the Emperor's flagship.

The others stood, watching them disappear as they gained altitude. "All right guys," Gia said, nervously rubbing her hands together. "We got this."

Jake put a hand on her arm. "Maybe we should save some for Orion and Troy when they get back?"

Noah shook his head. "I don't think they'll mind. Let's get down there-the Legendary Rangers need our help!"

* * *

"Check right!" Orion yelled to Troy through the comm. Troy didn't argue, but swung the red Jet Jammer into a tight right turn as a barrage of laser fire blew past so close he could feel the heat. He looked over at Orion, tossed him a thumbs up, and the two of them continued to speed toward the Emperor's ship.

"Hopefully there's no shields," Orion said worriedly. "Otherwise we're screwed."

"He's too arrogant for that," Troy argued. "He thinks we're inferior, that we can't touch him up here." He raised his eyes to the looming ship. "Boy, is he wrong about that," he added darkly.

"Looks like a docking hatch, there," Orion reported, pointing to the underbelly of the ship. The hatch was open, and didn't appear to be fortified. "You were right."

"Let's go pay him a visit," Troy suggested. The two of them flew into the hatch, Troy knocking down a few X-Borg laborers with the Jammer as it slid to a stop. Orion hopped off the silver surfboard-looking vehicle and the two of them made their way to what looked like some kind of elevator. "Beam me up, Scotty," Troy muttered.

Orion frowned. "Huh?"

"When this is all over, we're going to binge Star Trek for a week solid," Troy promised him. "Any guesses how this works?"

Orion studied the panel. "Some of the markings are similar to what was in the spacecraft I stole…let me see…"

Troy's eyes flickered out into the hangar. "See faster," he urged. "Our secret's out and there's a few coming this way!" He positioned himself in front of Orion, Quasar Sabre drawn, battling away a few laser pistol shots as Orion frantically looked over the controls. "Any day now, Orion…."

Orion's eyes landed on a chevron-looking button. "When in doubt," he shrugged, and jammed his finger on the button. The door slid shut, almost trapping Troy's sabre in the cross. Troy stumbled back from the doorway and glared through the visor at his alien brother. "Looked like an 'up' arrow," Orion stuttered. "Sorry."

* * *

Down on the ground, Gia and the rest of the Megaforce team landed near the line currently being held by the Lightspeed Rangers. "Gia. Where's Troy?" Dana called out to the Yellow Ranger.

Gia responded by pointing skyward. "The roof?" Dana asked her. Gia shook her head, raised her hand a little higher. Dana craned her neck out to see the Emperor's ship practically over the top of the hospital. She looked at Gia and groaned. "You've _got_ to be kidding."

"I doubt it, Day," Kelsey noted. "Your son is crazy."

"Takes after his dad!" Chad teased.

"Can we _focus_ right now, please?" Carter grimaced.

Jason Scott raised an eyebrow to the taller man. "I see that hasn't changed much," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

Carter shook his head. "'Fraid not." His V-Lancer fired, taking out two or three X-Borgs as they tried to advance through the line. "Bad humor or not, I'd trust them with my life," he confessed to Jason.

"Yeah," Jason agreed, glancing over his shoulder to where Zack, Kimberly and Billy were hustling some civilians behind an ambulance. "Same here."

Something exploded off to their left, and Joel swung his Mega Battle in that direction. "They're trying to get around us, around the building," he reported to Carter.

"I wish we had some more help," Jason said. He turned to TJ, who was standing a little farther down. "Can you expand down more that way?"

TJ conferred with Delphine, then turned to Jason. "Not without leaving a wide open hole," he said. "There's not enough of us that can do anything offensively without Power!"

Jason clenched a fist. "Damn it, I wish I could morph."

"Why didn't you say something?" Leo asked from behind Carter. The Lost Galaxy Team, all five of them plus Mike, stepped forward. "We get our Power from the Sabres," he said. He tossed a thumb to Carter and the Alien Rangers. "One more team of five, and we can probably fortify this a little better."

"Why didn't _you_ say something?" Carter demanded of one of his oldest friends.

Leo threw his hands in the air. "You never asked, Fearless Leader!"

"That's what we call Troy, too," Noah told Carter, grinning, despite it all.

Carter rolled his eyes inside his helmet, then popped his visor open so he could glare at Leo. "Get morphing, then!" he ordered.

Leo laughed. "Yes, sir!" He brandished his morpher. "Go Galactic!" he intoned.

A moment later, his team was standing morphed, but he was not. Mike Corbett gaped. "Problem, little brother?" he asked.

Leo was looking down in confusion. "I-I don't-"

"Ohh, I bet I do," Carter realized. He looked at Dana worriedly. "We were afraid of this," he explained. "The kids can access all our powers, all the way back to Jason's team, through some kind of key."

"So…your son's got my powers?" Leo clarified, and Carter nodded. Leo ran a hand through his hair, looked back at his team, and then out to the X-Borgs he knew were waiting. "Well, this sucks," he admitted.

Mike caught his eye. "You're not the only one," he reminded his brother quietly.

"We still have the Quasar Sabres though," Maya pointed out. "And those will do plenty of damage."

"Let's do it," Karone agreed, taking her husband's hand. She and Mike led the group into the hospital to go around the back entrances to take care of any X-Borgs that might try to breach from there.

* * *

The elevator door opened, and Troy tensed. Orion gripped his silver trident a little tighter as the Space uniform faded away.

The hall was silent. "They don't know we're onboard yet?" Troy wondered, stepping cautiously out, the Galaxy colors fading to black and red. 'Which way to the bridge, do you think?"

"You tell me," Orion replied. "You're the one who's been up here before."

Troy raised an eyebrow. "I was blindfolded for all of it," he admitted. "That was probably one of the scariest things about the whole thing. I could hear everything, but I couldn't see any of it." Unconsciously, he rubbed his wrists. "Couldn't fight my way out, had my hands tied…" Memories of the replication machine filled his mind, memories he'd thought he'd buried. _The heat…the pain…_

"Hey," Orion spoke up quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm with you. You're not alone this time."

Troy took a breath, let it out. "Okay." He looked around. "My guess would be the bridge is somewhere at the top of the ship. He pointed to a readout on the wall. "Here, I bet," he guessed, pointing to a level two decks above them.

"You said you could hear stuff when you were here," Orion said after a second. "What if…like, you closed your eyes, you think you could pick it out?"

Troy stepped away from him into the center of the hall. "Maybe? Uncle Chad told me once I didn't have to see an enemy attacking, I could feel it." He closed his eyes, and popped his helmet off, holding it under his arm. Orion leveled his spear, standing guard. Troy listened.

His eyes snapped open. "Up," he said instantly. "It's too loud down here, and it was pretty silent where I was."

"Lead the way," Orion gestured forward. The two of them stepped out onto the catwalk, and were met by four red-helmeted guardsmen. "Welcoming committee."

"Their hospitality sucks, trust me," Troy told him, and the two advanced forward, sabres drawn. They battled their way through the guards to a stairwell. Troy tossed one over the rail to drop on a catwalk several decks below, got onto the landing and activated the elevator. "Come on!" he yelled to Orion. Orion ran up the railing and met him at the top. Troy kicked an X-Borg from the elevator as it closed.

The two rode in silence. When it came to a stop, the doors hissed open, and a voice greeted them.

"Welcome, Red Ranger." The gravelly voice of Emperor Mavro was calm. If anything, he seemed amused.

"I told you I'd come back for you," Troy reminded him.

The Emperor stood up from his throne. "A fool's errand," he said dismissively. "You won't be leaving this ship."

"Oh, yes we will," Orion growled. With that, he attacked Mavro, swinging his Silver Spear like a baseball bat. Mavro caught it mid-swing and batted it away. Troy joined in, his sabre slashing across Mavro's chest, catching him on the arm with a glancing blow. Orion recovered, driving the trident's forks toward Mavro's head. Mavro dodged and the trident got lodged in the control panel sitting in front of the throne. Sparks flew.

"No!" Mavro howled. The rangers felt the ship lurch, throwing them sideways onto the floor.

"Orion, what-"

"I don't know!" Orion defended himself. "Nav systems maybe?"

"Well, next time, aim for the guns!" Troy told him, getting up. Mavro was waiting.

* * *

Down on the ground, Emma gasped. "Oh no."

Ryan Mitchell looked at where she was pointing. He swore, in total agreement. "Carter!" he yelled. "This is it!"

The street was crawling with X-Borgs. They were shoulder-to-shoulder, filling the street from sidewalk to sidewalk, all advancing on their position. He fired his laser, but it only knocked one away. They kept coming.

"Gia!" Jake called. "Let's use the Super Mega Cannon."

"Without Troy? It won't be enough!"

"We need to do _something_!" Jake countered.

"Okay!" Gia decided. Emma and Noah joined them. "Clear a path," she instructed Ryan. Ryan beckoned for the adults to back up, giving the kids some space. "Super Mega Cannon!" Gia called, and the weapon appeared in their hands. She and Emma knelt down, giving it a place to rest, and the boys steadied it.

"Get ready," Gia instructed. "Wait until they're closer. Maybe that'll deliver more damage."

"Any closer and they'll be in here with us," Emma warned her.

* * *

Troy shoved Mavro into the wall. "Go, Orion!" he yelled. Orion slid across the floor and came up at the control panel. Mavro growled and parried Troy away, lurching for the Silver Ranger, but Troy fired a shot with his blaster, returning Mavro's attention to him. "Going somewhere?" he demanded. He planted a kick in Mavro's chest.

"I found the firing sequence!" Orion announced. The buttons resembled the ones on his ship. Except there was a lot more. "And…oh…." He grinned under his helmet. "Ohhh, this one's good. Troy! I can make the ship overheat!"

"What?" Troy fired again at Mavro, keeping him pinned away from Orion.

"It's how I crashed the first time! I can overload the guns and destroy the cooling system. All that combined….I could take out the ship!"

"Do it!" Troy drove his elbow into Mavro's neck.

"Okay." Orion studied the console. "Not so fun when you're the one being invaded, huh," he muttered under his breath.

He hit the combination of buttons, and waited. A moment later, he couldn't hear himself think as every gun port on the flagship started firing. And with the messed-up nav system, it wasn't particular about where it was shooting. Smaller explosions lit the viewscreen as the flagship lurched, taking out the Armada's own ships.

Orion hopped over the console. "Never again will you do to another planet what you did to mine," he told Mavro. "Your fleet is destroyed."

Mavro began to laugh. "Something funny to you?" Troy demanded.

"You've destroyed my ship," Mavro coughed out, hacking from the damage Troy'd done with his elbow. "The ship will be destroyed…"

He looked Troy in the eye. "But you're still _on_ my ship."

* * *

" _Gia_!" Emma cried out.

"Yeah, I know!" Gia put her finger over the trigger. "Super Mega Blast!" The cannon fired, the energy pulse from the gun washing out several rows of X-Borgs, but ricocheted back and knocked them from morph.

"Well, that's not good," Noah mumbled, looking down to see his jacket and jeans.

"Fire again!" Gia yelled.

" _Seriously_?" Jake's jaw dropped.

"It'll be okay! Just do it!" Gia assured him.

Jake's eyes looked down at her. He saw confidence there. "Okay!" he agreed. "Super Mega Blast!"

The cannon fired again, pulsing into the street. More X-Borgs dropped. The kickback from the gun sent the four rangers to the ground _hard_. "Gia!" Dana cried. Ashley came over to give her a hand.

The X-Borgs stopped. As Carter and Jason watched…they began to retreat.

Jake was the first to sit up and see it for himself. "We got 'em!" he yelled exuberantly.

The crowd cheered as Dana and Ashley helped pull Gia, Emma, and Noah to their feet.

Their happiness was short-lived. As Chad and Kelsey stepped out from the line into the street to watch the X-Borgs scatter, they got their first glimpse of the battle happening in the sky. Above them, the Emperor's ship was firing madly at the Armada ships around it. "What the…" Kelsey trailed off.

The ship exploded, raining fiery debris down onto Harwood. Chad and Kelsey dove back under the overhang and everyone crowded near the doors.

"What the hell was that?" Andros asked.

"The Emperor's ship exploded!" Chad told him.

"That's a good thing, right?" Kimberly asked Jason.

Jason glanced grimly at Carter, who had taken off his helmet. He was watching Gia, who was holding her morpher to her lips.

"Troy? Orion?"


	68. Back to Action

Word spread quickly that the Red and Silver rangers had been on the exploding ship. Cheers turned to silence. The Armada flagship rained down around them. In the distance, a car alarm blared, echoing down the streets.

Carter, Dana, and Ryan crowded around Gia. Her hands were shaking as she tried again. "Troy? Orion? Are you guys okay?"

"Maybe there's interference with everything going on," Noah offered.

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Jake asked him quietly. His friend gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Jake gave his friend a side-armed hug.

Gia's morpher crackled, and everyone gathered around. But the voice that came over wasn't Troy or Orion.

" _Is anybody out there?"_ Dana recognized the voice belonging to the little robot at the command center, Tensou. The disappointment in the group was palpable.

"We're here," Gia responded quietly. "What's up, Tensou?"

" _The X-Borgs!"_ Tensou chirped urgently. " _They're here!"_

Emma exchanged a look with Gia. "We know, Tensou," Emma told him. "They're retreating."

" _I know!"_ Tensou replied. _"What I mean is, they're_ here _! Thousands of them! They're heading for the Point!"_

"What?" GIa almost dropped her morpher.

"We gotta stop them," Jake said. "They can't get their hands on our keys. If they do…we'll never beat them!"

"But there's _thousands_ of them," Noah reminded them. "Even _with_ the Legendary powers…"

"And without Troy and Orion…" Emma added.

"It's not enough!" Gia scuffed her foot on the ground. She looked around at the adults around her. "Our stupid cannon couldn't even defeat more than a handful with it being just the four of us."

"We've gotta try," Noah argued. "We can't just let them get the keys. Even if it's just X-Borgs left…"

"We'll go with you," TJ spoke up quickly. The others looked at him. "What? Even if we can't morph, we can still kick some ass, right?"

"We can't ask you to do that," Gia cut in.

Carter chuckled humorlessly. "You forget, Gia, we know where we're going. What's to stop us from going on our own?"

GIa turned to face the older man. "This isn't your fight!"

Carter stepped up so he was standing toe to toe with her. He towered over her. "If my son just died in that explosion, then it damn well _is_ our fight," he told her.

"Okay, you guys need to calm down," Chad spoke up.

"Yeah, guys," Ryan jumped in. "Look, it wouldn't be the first time the boys have pulled a near death experience on us. Hell, it's only been like 24 hours since the last one." He looked at his brother in law. "You don't know that he's gone, Carter."

"Whether Troy and Orion are or aren't," Dana spoke up, "we're not about to let the four of you go fight a thousand of those things. It's a suicide mission."

"But it's still _our_ mission," Jake said. "You guys can do more here, helping here."

Jason coughed. "Kid, I don't know if you've counted lately, but there's more than enough of us here that we can split the work."

"But TJ is right," Emma added. "Some of you can't morph. And to go up against the X-Borgs…"

"It'd be insane," Noah finished.

"Do you see what I have to put with?" a voice spoke up from somewhere on the fringes of the group. Everyone turned.

Troy and Orion stood next to two crashed and burned flyers. They were both pretty banged up. Troy was bleeding from a cut above his eye, and Orion was limping. "Seriously, guys, why do you even bother arguing with them?" He looked at his father and mother. "I'm talking to _you_ by the way," he added with a smirk.

"You're alive!" Emma cried. Troy braced himself as she nearly bowled him over. He kissed the top of her forehead as the rest of his team and family converged on them. His mother and father crushed him in a double hug and he held on tightly. He'd never tell them how close it was.

"Man, kid, enough of this," Joel teased him. "No more of these stunts, huh?"

Troy raised an eyebrow. "Says _you_ ," he countered, and Joel grinned, ruffling his hair.

"I can't believe you survived that," Noah told Orion.

Orion shrugged. "You know, I'm getting pretty decent at surviving things crashing."

"What happened to Mavro?" Dana asked them.

Orion grinned tiredly. "Down with the ship," he said. "I hope."

"Well, that's great and everything," Gia replied, "but we've got about a thousand X-Borgs trying to break into our base out on the Point."

"Oh, of course," Orion sighed. "As if today could get any worse."

"There's too many of them to beat on our own," Troy said. He looked at his parents, at Jason and TJ and the others. "We could sure use the help."

"We'll do what we can," Zack Taylor told him.

"Could be a little tough, some of us not being able to morph and all," Cassie shrugged. "But we've gotta end this, one way or the other."

"Actually…" All eyes turned to Noah, who had his eyes closed, brow furrowed. Then, he opened them, and grinned. "I have an idea." He turned to the others. "We need to get to the Point."

"You can't do this alone," Carter began, but Noah held up a hand.

"Dad," Troy said warningly, not willing to start the argument again. He looked over. Noah was focused, Troy knew. "Give him a sec."

Noah's eyes snapped open. "I think I might know a way that I can connect everyone back to the Morphing Grid." He looked at Jason and the original rangers. " _Everyone_. But until I know if it'll work..it's probably better for you to stay behind." He looked at Troy. Troy nodded.

"You heard the man," he told his father. "Stay." With that, he and the others disappeared in bursts of colored light.

Carter looked over at Ryan. His brother and sister in law were trying not to laugh. He turned to his wife for help.

Dana burst out laughing. "He's _your_ son," was all she could say.

* * *

The beach was silent when Troy's feet landed on the sand. Chunks of spaceship burned around them, but minus that, the waves lapped against the shore and a light breeze was blowing in an overcast sky. _Could've been any other day_ , Troy thought.

_Except today's the day we either finish our mission…or die trying._

He looked up the beach. The rocky hill that concealed their base jutted out into the gray sky. "This is where we draw the line," he said. He pointed up the trailhead. "They'll come from that way, if they come. We can't let them get past this point."

"Whatever it takes," Jake said, all business.

"We started this almost a year ago, right here on this beach." Troy told them. "Today's the day it ends…one way or the other." He took a deep breath and let it out. "I've never seen how this ends," he said, looking out over the water. "My dreams never showed me the outcome. Just the battle."

"Good," Orion said, and Troy frowned. "Well, that means, if we lose, we won't go in thinking that we'll be defeated," he explained. "So… let's do this."

"We just have to hold them until the other rangers get here," Gia said. She grinned sideways at Emma. "No pressure or anything."

Emma grinned back. "We can do it," she said. "Together."

"We need to wait for Noah's signal," Troy reminded them. "They'll be here soon, but we just need to hold them off." He tossed his key up in the air, caught it. "Let's get going." He inserted the key, turned it. "It's morphin' time!"

"Super Megaforce Red!"

"Super Megaforce Yellow!"

"Super Megaforce Pink!"

"Super Megaforce Green!"

"Super Megaforce Silver!"

As Troy's vision went shaded from his visor, he caught site of Noah scrambling down the rocks from the Point, and behind him…gold light was exploding from the rocks, out of the natural crevices. It blasted into the sky and spread out, raining down over Harwood.

"What did you _do_?" Jake yelled.

Noah turned his key as he kept running toward them. "Super Megaforce Blue!" He skidded to a stop in the dirt with his boots. "Tensou and I….we, well, I thought-"

"Breathe!" Troy encouraged. "But talk fast."

Over the sound of the waves, there was the sound of robotic limbs and grinding. "They're coming!" Emma gaped.

"Noah!" Gia pressed, and Noah whirled to face her.

"Okay! Tensou and I thought, well, if _we_ could access the powers, then we should share them. Tensou tapped the Morphin' Grid, and well…." He pointed up to the cliffs. "Look!"

Troy frowned, turning. His jaw dropped.

"No way…"

Standing above them on the cliffs were the Lightspeed Rangers, Carter, Dana, Chad, Kelsey, Joel and Ryan. But next to them, and the source of Troy's surprise...Jason, Kimberly, Zack and Billy stood…in _morph_.

" _How_?" Troy looked at Noah. " _How_ are they-?"

"You gave them the Power _back_ ," Jake realized. Noah nodded and Jake tapped him on the helmet. "Noah…you're a freakin' _genius_!"

"Look, it's Casey, Theo and RJ!" Emma pointed to the Jungle Fury rangers, who were joined by Lily and Dominic and six other Rangers. "And Wild Force!" Taylor Earhardt gave them a nod, flanked by Cole, Alyssa, Danny, Max and Merrick Baliton, the sixth Ranger they hadn't met on Animaria.

"Oh my God," Gia turned to Troy. "It's the RPM Rangers!" She waved to Scott, Gemma, Gem, Flynn, Ziggy and the rest of their team, Dillon and Summer. Ziggy waved back.

Troy laughed. "Hey, there's Wes and Eric!" He pointed to the Red Time Force Ranger and the Quantum Ranger. "And TJ and his team!" He spotted TJ, Cassie, Ashley, Carlos, Andros and Zhane near the Wild Force team.

"So many Rangers," Orion looked around. "Hey, there's Mia and Antonio and the Samurai!" Lauren, Jayden, Kevin, Mike and Emily gave them a thumbs up as they ran to join the crowd making their way to the beach.

"I've never seen some of them before," Emma was in awe.

"Ninja Storm," Noah helped, pointing Tori, Cam, Hunter, Shane, Dustin and Blake out. "Justin, the Blue Turbo Ranger, Kat, the Pink Zeo Ranger, and Tanya…she was Zeo Yellow."

"There's the Galaxy Rangers," Orion gave a wave to Leo, Karone, Damon, Maya and Kai. "And the Alien Rangers," he added, as Delphine, Corcus, Tideus, Aurico and Cestro appeared next to them.

"Who's the guy with the horns?" Jake asked, pointing to a caped figure in black next to Leo Corbett.

"The Magna Defender, Mike Corbett," Troy explained. "He's Leo's brother."

"There's the Overdrive Rangers…and hey look, Nick and Maddie and the Mystic Force!" Gia grabbed Jake's arm and pointed up at Mack, Ronnie, Rose, Will, Dax and Tyzonn, Nick and Madison, Xander, Chip, Vida and Daggeron.

"Hey…." Troy looked at Noah. "How come there's three extra Mighty Morphin' Rangers?"

Noah scanned the cliffs, settling in on three figures in Black, Red and Yellow. "Uh…oh! That's Rocky, Adam and Aisha," he replied. "It's a long story."

The teams started converging on the beach. There was color everywhere. Carter and Dana, Jason, and Wes came up to the teens and pulled their helmets off. "I don't know how you did it, kid," Jason looked directly at Noah, "but you…" He smiled. "This is incredible."

Noah blushed. "I…you're welcome."

Jason opened his mouth to say something else, but a flash of light behind the rangers made him pause. He glanced up and rolled his eyes. "Seriously, man? Again?"

"When has he _ever_ been on time?" Kimberly teased from behind Jason, as Tommy Oliver and the Dino Thunder Rangers, Kira, Conner, Ethan and Trent ran up to the group.

"Got held up," Tommy replied. "You should _see_ what's coming, man. It's crazy." He looked at the teenagers. "You're the new guys, huh?" He held out a hand to Troy. "Nice to meet you."

"This is crazy," Troy looked at Gia even as he shook Tommy's hand. "I can't believe it…every single Ranger…"

"Not _every_ ," Wes said quietly, so low that only Carter heard it. He gave his friend a pat on the back.

"Hey, I hate to break up the reunion," Eric Meyers cut in, "but _here they come_!"

They poured down the cliffs and down the trailhead road like a plague. Thousands of silver-helmeted soldiers. The sounds of marching feet drowned out any hope of any more conversation. Jason locked his helmet back in place, looked at Troy.

"Why don't _you_ guys take the lead," he offered.

Troy nodded. "Absolutely." He turned to his team. "Ready for this?"

"Absolutely not," Jake admitted. "But y'know, since we're here…"

Noah laughed and hit him in the shoulder. The six of them turned to face the onslaught, Troy at the head. Before he could order them forward, a whole section of X-Borgs exploded in a burst of laser fire. Emma yanked Troy back as the line plummeted forward almost on top of him.

"What the _hell_?" Wes whirled around, on the defensive. Had his head not been encased by his helmet, his jaw would have hit the sand.

In the sky above the beach, a large, circular shaped craft was coming through the clouds. It let loose with another barrage, knocking out another line. The X-Borgs froze in surprise at the new arrivals.

"Is that-?" Eric stammered. He looked at Wes. Wes popped his visor, his eyes fixated on the craft as it settled into the shallows. A panel slid back…and four more Rangers came running outside in Pink, Green, Blue and Yellow. The Pink Ranger stopped, ankle-deep in the water, looking in Wes's direction.

Wes's jaw dropped. " _Jen_!"

The remaining Time Force Rangers, Jen, Lucas, Katie and Trip ran up to them, Jen throwing her arms around Wes.

"How-?" Wes gasped.

They were interrupted by a second craft appearing, a silvery thing shaped a bit like a rollercoaster car. Metallic lettering on the sides in shiny black said SPD. "It's Bridge!" Troy laughed, as the Ranger wearing #1 in Red stepped out, followed by Sky, Jack, Z and Syd, and two other rangers in Silver and White.

Jen looked at Wes with a teary smile. "Do you guys have _any_ idea what this little ranger reunion is doing to time? What reconnecting teams to the Morphing Grid _did?"_

"Sorry," Noah muttered quietly.

"Don't be," Jen replied, and Noah jumped. She looked at them. "You guys look like you can use the help...no matter where or _when_ it's coming from."

"Plus, Sky hates time anomalies…they're a hell of a lot of paperwork," Bridge grinned, earning him a a smack from the tall Blue Ranger beside him.

"Tell us about it," Katie muttered, earning an elbow from Lucas.

Troy felt the sand shift behind him. He turned. The X-Borgs had recovered from their shock at the two arriving spaceships and two more teams of Rangers, and were advancing.

"Let's talk later." Troy turned to his team, sabres and blasters drawn.

He grinned, tensing into a defensive stance.

"Back to action!"


	69. Go, Go Power Rangers

Ninety-eight rangers threw themselves into battle. Troy swiveled with his blaster, shooting three X-Borgs point blank., then kicked backwards and sent one flying toward Carlos Vallerte, who put it down with his Astro Blaster. "Nice one," Carter said as he pulled his blaster from his hip. Carter and Troy took aim and leveled several more. Troy grinned and gave his dad a thumbs up. "Nice shooting, Dad," he told him. "You're like Clint Eastwood or something."

Carter twirled the blaster and holstered it, switching over to his V-Lancer. "Why work harder?" he questioned with a smile in his voice, and then with a tap on Troy's helmet, he was gone again. "Be careful!" he yelled as an afterthought.

Troy rolled his eyes, and then an X-Borg was on him.

* * *

Orion kicked his way through a few more, swinging his Silver Spear and swiping the legs out from under them, moving through the fray past the three Wind Rangers toward Mike Corbett, who had just planted a massive boot into an X-Borg. "Hey," he said, winded. "How's it goin'?"

"Oh, y'know," Orion shrugged, using the spear as leverage and swinging into one of the foot soldiers. "Same stuff, different day."

Mike chuckled. "Maybe for _you_. It's been a few years for me," he countered. Mike shouldered an X-Borg and it went flying onto its' back onto the beach.

"Sure doesn't look like it," Orion noted.

* * *

A few yards away, Gia slashed an X-Borg across the stomach, then whirled and fired her blaster at another.

"Gia, _duck_!"

Gia didn't even think twice, crouching low as six shadows leapt over her, and six Crystal Sabres took down an entire line of X-Borgs as Taylor and the Wild Force team landed in the now-open space. Gia rolled forward to give Taylor Earhardt's hand a shake. "Thanks, Taylor," she told the Yellow Ranger.

"Not a problem," Taylor grinned beneath her helmet. "Go get 'em, kiddo," she told Gia.

* * *

"Power Lance!" Billy Cranston hooked the leg of an X-Borg and tossed it into the air. Planted on the rocks above him, Noah took aim with his blaster and sent it up and over him into the ocean. "Nice catch," Billy told the younger Blue Ranger.

Noah shrugged. "Just throwing back the little fish," he told Billy.

Billy shivered. "Yeah…I don't really do fish," he admitted, and then he was gone to join Cestro and Aurico, leaving a very confused Noah behind.

* * *

Jen, Mia, Vida and Emma had built up a protective Pink circle, standing back to back as some X-Borgs circled them.

"Hang on, Jen, I'm comin'!" Wes Collins saw them surrounded, and he started running for them.

Jen laughed, looking over her shoulder at Emma. "Really?" she teased, and swung outwards with her Chrono Sabre, slashing down two X-Borgs. Emma swung out with her own sabre, and Vida and Mia let loose a burst of pink wind, sending the fallen X-Borgs up and into the cliff above the beach.

Wes's boots slid to a stop as the four Pink Rangers turned to face him. "I….never mind," he said lamely.

Eric had seen the exchange. "Wes, you idiot, you should know better."

Jen and Emma hugged the embarrassed Wes. "It's okay, it's nice to know that chivalry isn't dead in this century," Jen grinned.

"It definitely isn't," Emma replied, looking over at Troy, who was cutting his way through a swatch of X-Borgs along with Jason and Conner. She watched him grab an X-Borg off of his mother and drive his sabre into it.

* * *

Jake backflipped out of the way as tree roots burst from the hill he was standing by and ensnared the X-Borg that was just about to get him from behind. He turned to see Xander Harris pointing his wand in his direction. "You okay, mate?" Xander asked him as Jake somersaulted to join him.

"Better now," Jake replied. "That was pretty sweet."

"Sort of your thing, huh Xander?" Adam Park questioned as he swung his axe toward the cliff, burying the X-Borg and a few of his friends under a pile of rock.

Xander shrugged. "What can I say," he said. "Plan Xander will _not_ work in this situation."

"Xander," Adam said, pointing his axe at him, "when has Plan Xander _ever_ worked?" He kicked an X-Borg in the back of its' knees and slammed his axe down on it.

Xander thought a moment. "Good point," he replied.

* * *

Troy was _tired_. It seemed like for every X-Borg he shot, four more appeared. He hit his knees in the sand, fighting for breath.

"Keep it up, Troy," Chad encouraged him, a burst of water exploding from the Blue Mega Battle. "We're almost there." He pulled Troy to his feet.

"They just keep coming!" Troy lamented. "We're never gonna get them all."

"Troy, look around you," his mentor and honorary uncle said, gesturing. "What do you see?"

Troy scanned the beach. Out in the water, Tori and Maddie had created a giant wave that crashed onto the beach, sweeping several of the soldiers (and very nearly Mack and Tyzonn) out to sea. There was a burst of fire as Jayden and Lauren advanced on another line, the kanji for _flame_ glowing in front of them. An earsplitting scream had him turning in surprise, only to see Kira Ford leveling a wave of X-Borgs with only her voice. Tommy Oliver and Rocky DeSantos had teamed up near her, two of the veterans showing their old teamwork and martial arts skills as easily as if they were still teens. He saw several SPD Yellow Rangers taking on a group of X-Borgs while Sky and Bridge showed expert marksmanship on a few more. Gem and Gemma were cheering as a small controlled explosion ripped through the line.

He could see more color than silver. _We're winning,_ he realized. "We're winning!" he told Chad.

Chad nodded. "Stay focused," he encouraged. "You've almost done it." Then, he ran forward, exchanging the Mega Battle for his V-Lancer for a Spectrum Blast with the other Lightspeed Rangers, mowing over ten X-Borgs in one blast.

A thought occurred to Troy, and he yelled for his father. Carter met him in the middle of the battlefield. "Dad, I got an idea!" Troy said. "What if we all used our final strikes?"

Carter ran the scenario, then gave his son a thumbs up again. "That would definitely do the job," he told him. "Let's spread the word!" The two split up, calling over the clangs of metal and sparks and elemental attacks. Pretty soon, teams were joining up all over the beach, cornering the X-Borgs between the rangers and the sea. There was a tense standoff as the X-Borgs faced the Rangers.

"Jason!" Troy called. The Mighty Morphin' Red Ranger stepped out of formation and looked down the line at the teen. "You were the first; you start us off!"

Jason nodded. "With pleasure." The Mighty Morphin' rangers, Earth's first protectors, took aim. "Let's do this, guys," Jason said. " _Power Blast!"_

" _Zeo Blaster!"_ Kat and Tanya yelled.

" _Spiral Sabre! Quadro Blaster!_ " Andros and the Space Rangers added to the mix.

" _Lights of Orion_!" The Lost Galaxy team began to glow. " _Power Up Mode_!" A burst of light surged forward.

" _Rescue Bird!_ " Carter raised his hand to the sky and the weapon settled into the Lightspeed Rangers' grips. " _Unilaser Mode_!" Ryan held on, channeling his power into the strike.

" _Vortex Blaster_!" called Wes and the Time Force Rangers. He felt Eric's hand on one shoulder; Jen's on the other.

A massive red and gold sword appeared in Cole Evans' hand. " _Savage Slash_!" Merrick joined in with, " _Lunar Break_!"

There was a rumble on the beach as the Ninja Storm Rangers channeled the elements. " _Power of Air! Earth! Water! Thunder! Lightning!_ "

" _Z-Rex Blaster_!" Conner aimed the weapon at the X-Borgs, with his team helping him brace for the kickback.

"Bridge, you're Red," Sky told his team leader. "Your call." Bridge grinned with a glance back at Jack, sporting SPD Green. " _K-9 Cannon_!"

" _Code 2_!" Nick spun the dial on his Magi Staff. " _Legend Warriors, United Formation_!" Four more spear tips joined him.

" _Drill Blaster_!" Mack Hartford and the Overdrive team took aim.

Casey Rhodes took the lead for Jungle Fury. " _Claw Cannon_!" He felt Lily, Theo, RJ and Dom grab his arms and legs, securing him in place.

" _RPM Enforcer_!" Scott Truman led the call, his teammates handing over their Engine Cells.

Jayden held the cannon steady as the Samurai inserted their animal discs. " _Multi-Disk Octo Cannon_!" He felt the weapon charging in his hands.

"And last but not least…" Troy aimed his blaster dead center at the X-Borg in front of him, saw four more and a giant trident follow his lead. " _Super Mega Final Strike!"_

The burst of light and energy was so great, Troy could feel the heat emanating off the sand, feel the sizzle of electricity make the hairs on his arms stand up, even encased in his uniform. The visor wasn't enough to shield them from the light, and he closed his eyes. An explosion knocked him backwards, and he landed hard in the sand.

But when he opened his eyes…the X-Borgs were gone. The sand was singed and black where they'd stood, steam rising off the ocean waves where they met the beach.

He heard Jake swear. "Son of a _bitch_ …we got 'em!"

The sentiment echoed down the line as everyone burst into cheers of celebration and congratulations. Emma threw her arms around Troy, nearly knocking him over. "They're gone!" she yelled in his ear. "We won!"

He couldn't respond…he was too in shock. "We won?" he asked aloud in disbelief. He saw Emma nodding her head vigorously. "We _won_!" He picked Emma up and swung her around, saw Noah and Orion high fiving and Gia and Jake locked in a fierce hug.

"Troy!" He heard his dad yelling his name, felt his arms wrap around him and hug him. "You did it!"

"No," Troy managed, shaking his head, even through the wave of adrenaline. "No, Dad… _we_ did it! _All_ of us! It's finally over!"

" _Not so fast!"_ A gravelly voice boomed off the cliffs and the rocks, making 98 rangers freeze in their celebrations. Carter let go of Troy and watched his son turn to face…

"Emperor Mavro?" Orion gaped, his heart pounding in his chest. "But…he-"

"He survived," Troy said in disbelief.

"You may have defeated my army, Rangers," Mavro bellowed. "But you haven't defeated _me_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not all that fabulous at writing fight scenes, and trying to write for 98 Rangers is well, it's a lot, so I apologize for the truncated length. But as Carter puts it, why work harder? (Part of the inspiration for this came from an NPS podcast with Sean Cw Johnson and the whole blaster thing in "Forever Red." Yeah, 98 rangers could kick their way through a thousand X-Borgs, but really, if you had your powers back, WHY wouldn't you use them?)


	70. Still Standing

Mavro advanced on the line of Rangers, seemingly unintimidated by the sheer number of 98-1 odds. "It's over when I _say_ it is!" he growled at them. "I've survived _far_ worse than _that_ pathetic attempt." He pointed at Troy and Orion, and Troy clenched a fist. "Hundreds of worlds have fallen before me…and now _you_ will be added to the list of the defeated and forgotten! I. Will. _Crush_. You."

"Look around you, Emperor," Troy yelled back. "You've _lost_."

Mavro stared Troy down. "I am still standing-"

"Not for long!" Jake promised him.

"You're next!" Noah swore.

"You picked the _wrong_ planet to mess with!" Emma informed him.

"I've got a score to settle with you!" Orion added. "For Andresia!"

Troy couldn't help but grin behind his visor. This was his team. These were his friends. Unwavering loyalty and courage.

"One more time, Troy," Gia said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"We're with you, Troy," Jason Scott told him, coming to stand behind him. The whole Ranger line shifted to follow Troy's lead.

Troy looked at Earth's original Red Ranger…and shook his head. "No. This one is ours, and ours alone."

Jason considered that. "In that case…" His suit faded away in a burst of red. He looked around, and the other rangers followed his lead. "I think you're gonna need this back." He handed Troy the Red Ranger key. "It's definitely in good hands," he told him.

Troy smiled as he took the key. He turned to his team. "Every power. Every mode we've got. We can't afford to hold anything back." He turned to the Emperor, leveled his sabre, and closed his visor. "Time to show you what _real_ power is," he told Mavro. "Legendary Ranger Mode, Operation Overdrive!" His suit flashed away as Mack Hartford's took his place (leaving a stunned Mack Hartford watching), and the team charged forward.

"Aquitar Ranger Power!" Emma yelled, pink suit giving way to white. "Aquitian Laser!" She fired at Mavro, blinding him with bursts of laser and smoke.

"Green Samurai Saber!" Jake charged through the smoke, slashing at Mavro in Cam Watanabe's Samurai Ranger form. Mavro knocked him out of the way, but Emma and Gia had his back.

"Ptera Grips!"

"Power Bow!" Gia came flying at him with the wings of the Dino Thunder Yellow suit and Emma cleared the way with bolts of pink light from the Mighty Morphin' Pink bow. Then, Troy and Orion were there, engulfing Mavro in a burst of flame in the Lost Galaxy red and Magna Defender suits, following it up with hacking slashes from a Quasar Saber.

"Mega Battle Blue!" Noah followed it up with a pointed jet of water from the Lightspeed Rescue Blue Battle Booster.

They were driving Mavro back, but not doing much damage. "I don't even have a scratch!" Mavro taunted them.

* * *

"We have to get in there," Tommy whispered. His fingers tensed, itching for a chance to get back in the game, but Kat Hilliard put a hand on his shoulder.

"This is their fight," she reminded him. "They can do this."

Near them, RJ James was in awe. "Imagine the control it must take to switch between all those forms," he murmured.

"Way cool," Dustin Brooks pronounced.

* * *

"Gold Zeo Ranger!" Jake's suit morphed into that of the Zeo Ranger, and he planted the Gold Power Staff into the sand and launched himself with a powerful kick that sent Mavro to the ground.

"Don't let him get up!" Troy ordered. "Battlizers!" He switched keys mid-run. "Trans Armor Cycle!" His father's special Battlizer appeared and Troy zipped forward, the rockets on the feet skimming over the sand. He plowed into Mavro, knocking him back into the sand.

"SPD S.W.A.T Mode!" Jake called out. "Delta Enforcer!" He wore the Green SPD SWAT suit and fired point blank at Mavro with the Delta Enforcer, not even giving him a chance to get up.

"Jungle Fury Master Mode!" Jets appeared on the sides of Gia's Yellow Cheetah uniform and she used them to booster her into the air, ramming her foot into the back of Mavro's head. "Not so tough _now_ , are you?" she asked him as she flipped agilely away as Mavro tried to take a swing at her.

"He's getting weaker," Orion noted as she landed beside him.

"Don't go easy on him!" Gia warned, and Orion snorted.

"Of course not!"

"Lion Staff, Code 1!" Emma was right behind them, sweeping Mavro up in a gust of swirling, pink wind. "Come on, Noah!"

"Just waiting for the word," Noah responded. "Super Dino Mode!" With a burst of speed, Noah met Mavro on the way down, slashing him across the chest with his forearm, now covered in sharp-pointed white spikes from the Dino Thunder power up.

"Finish him off, Orion!" Troy yelled.

Orion narrowed his eyes. "With pleasure. Super Mega Gold!" There was a burst of silver and gold, and Orion was now wearing gold armor, with the symbols of every sixth ranger embedded on the chest. "Power of Six!"

* * *

"What the-" Merrick Baliton's jaw dropped, and he turned to Eric Meyer and Ryan Mitchell, who were standing next to him.

"Just roll with it," Eric replied.

"Yeah, it's hard to explain," Ryan shrugged.

* * *

Figures shimmered in the air around Orion as he stepped forward. "This is for Andresia, my home world." He leveled his trident at Mavro. Around him, the figures materialized into the sixth rangers- Zeo Gold, Mighty Morphin' Green, Silver Space, the Magna Defender, Titanium, Quantum Ranger, Lunar Wolf, Green Samurai, White Dino Thunder, SPD Omega, Solaris Knight, Mercury Ranger, Jungle Fury Rhino Ranger, Gold Samurai, RPM Gold and Silver, and Samurai Gold. "And it's for Earth, my _new_ home," Orion finished. "Super Silver Spear!" He swung a bolt of energy with his own personal weapon as the shadowy sixth ranger figures attacked Mavro, the extra boost of power given to all sixth rangers providing the extra punch along with the Spear.

Mavro snarled. Then he screamed. And then, the Emperor of the Armada that had tried to take over Earth exploded in a burst of energy, fire and smoke. The resulting backlash slammed into the six Megaforce Rangers, sending them flying onto their backs and into the sand. Troy used the momentum, rolled backwards and over into a crouch, focused on where Mavro had been standing.

 _Had been_. As the smoke cleared, there was nothing to be seen. The Emperor was gone. Vaporized.

Troy dropped unceremoniously onto his butt in the sand, exhausted.

"It's finally over?" Orion asked. He turned his head sideways in the sand, looking at his Earth brother.

Troy closed his eyes. "Yes," he said with finality. Then, with more energy, " _Yes_!" He pounded his fists in the sand exuberantly.

And then, the rest of the Rangers were on him. Carter Grayson pulled his son to his feet and crushed him in a hug, Dana and Ryan following suit. "You did it, son," Carter yelled in his ear to be heard over the celebrating. "You _did_ it!"

"We're so proud of you!" Dana whispered in his other ear.

Troy could hear other congratulations, feel more pats on the backs and hugs, but the two he wanted the most to hear, he'd already heard.

"Mom?" He pulled out of his father's embrace to look at them both. "Dad?"

"What's up, kiddo?" Dana asked him.

Troy smiled. "I'm really glad we moved here."

Carter ruffled his hair. "Me too, Troy. Me too."

"Excuse me," a voice said, and the Graysons turned to see Jason Scott and the rest of the Rangers heading their way. "Sorry to interrupt the family moment," Jason apologized. "We…well, _all_ of us, we have a few things to say to you and your team," he told Troy.

Troy gulped. "Uh…sure. Let me just go, um…grab my team." His father let go of him and Troy went looking, grabbing Jake and Emma away from Theo and Lily and Gia away from Taylor, and then had to pull Mike Corbett out of Orion's grip, as Orion was thanking him for saving him and bringing him back. He led them all over to where Jason Scott was standing, and the other rangers gathered around. Jason hopped up on a busted piece of Armada ship so he could be seen and heard above the crowd. "Look, I just wanted to say thank you," he told them. "Not only for, you know, saving the planet, but also…for giving us the chance to be Rangers again."

"Some of us thought that wouldn't ever be possible again," Billy Cranston said.

"You've more than lived up to the legacy that we began," Tommy Oliver added, with a knowing smile at Jason.

Jason pulled Troy up on the rock next to him. "It was an honor to fight alongside you," Troy told him, remembering that his father was watching and that it probably wouldn't be polite to fanboy at them.

"No, kid," Jason disagreed. "The honor was _ours_."

Kimberly started clapping. Pretty soon, everyone was joining in, and Troy motioned for his team to join them as Jason jumped down, and the applause echoed down the beach.

Carter felt his cell phone buzz in his pocket, pulled it out to see at least ten texts from his boss. "We should be getting back," he told Dana. "Cleanup."

"Oh, yeah," Kelsey said, as if remembering that a few miles away, there was a city that was still in need of help. She grinned, grabbing Ryan's hand. "Let's go!"

Jake pulled Gia in for a kiss, then took her hand. "Troy?" Jake questioned. "You coming?"

Troy nodded. "We'll catch up," he said, and then ran to pull Emma aside from where she was talking with a few other rangers.

"Fair enough," Jake grinned. "Noah! Come on man, let's go! I wanna see if Ernie's is still standing!"

* * *

"I can't believe it's over," Emma said as she and Troy walked down the beach. She slipped a hand into his back pocket. "Look at the sky." She pointed up, and Troy followed her gaze. "I forgot how blue it was."

"Without all the Armada ships?" Troy teased, and Emma nodded, resting her head on his shoulder.

"What happens now?" Emma asked him as they walked. "I kind of like being a Power Ranger," she said wistfully. "I'm kind of sad that part's over."

Troy turned, pulled her close, and tilted her head so she was looking at him. "We'll never stop being Rangers," he reminded her. He kissed the top of her head. "And now…we rebuild. Senior year happens. We graduate…"

He looked at her. "I am so glad that I met you and Gia and Jake and Noah. When I moved here, I wasn't really sure what was going to happen, or what I was going to do. But now…I know that whatever happens, we'll face it together."

"You know, you were right," Emma told him. "Your first day of school, you said in the end, it'd be humans left standing?" She gestured around them. "Look where we are. Still standing."

"I didn't think we'd make it," Troy admitted.

"Troy, we more than just _made_ it," Emma told him. "We became a part of the legacy your family was a part of, that their friends were a part of. That Jason and Kimberly and all those guys _started_."

She smiled, then changed the subject. "How do you think you'll sleep tonight?" Emma asked him knowingly.

Troy grinned, thinking about the dream that had started their journey.

"I'm thinking I'm gonna sleep really well."


	71. Once a Ranger

_Four months later…_

Troy climbed out of Gwen Goodall's car to the sounds of construction and heavy machinery. The city had been under construction from the Armada's initial invasion, and the carnage dealt after the final battle compounded the cleanup. The six Megaforce Rangers had been helping, and several past Rangers had taken time off to give the citizens of Harwood a hand. Carter and Dana had put in a lot of overtime. Gia's mom and Jake's father were both fine, having found a group of people who'd found a good hiding spot to wait out the battle. Noah's parents as well were both okay. The teens had confessed to their parents that they were the Power Rangers, and aside from Emma's mom and Troy's parents, they were mostly in denial.

It was probably better that way, Troy thought. Most of the population had no clue the six of them where the Power Rangers who had stopped the Armada, and he wanted to keep it that way. He did _not_ want his own chapter in a history book like his parents had.

"Bye, Mom!" Emma called through the passenger window.

"Have fun, you guys. Be careful! I'll be back in a couple of hours!" Gwen replied as she pulled away from the curb.

Emma waited until her mother rounded the corner before turning to Troy and rolling her eyes. "She's a lot more protective _now_ than she was before she knew I was a ranger," she sighed.

"She'll adjust," Troy said. "My parents did. Did Jake and Gia say where they were meeting us?"

Emma shook her head. "Let's just wander 'til we find them," she suggested. She pulled her camera out. "There's so much happening down here. I can't wait to get it all on film."

The future was shaping up to be an interesting one. Emma had an internship under Madison Rocca waiting for her in Briarwood after graduation, a few hours down the coast. Troy would be completing high school and then joining her in Briarwood. He was planning on taking his general education credits there, and then when Emma's internship finished, they were moving back to Harwood so Troy could complete his degree in education. Getting tutelage from all the past (and future) Rangers had inspired him to teach others himself.

"Hey guys!"

Emma yanked Troy's arm and crossed the street to the front of the mall where Jake and Gia were waiting. Jake was waiting on his background check to go through to work at a Conner McKnight Soccer Camp the summer after graduation, and his future after that depended on Gia. Gia, on the track she was on, was scheduled to be graduating early in the fall and then she was headed to the community college, where she was undecided on a major. Emma was trying to push her toward graphic design, mainly because she'd designed the matching tattoos she and Jake had gotten and because Emma wanted someone to go into business with later on.

"Hey, you two," Troy greeted Jake and Gia. "Noah here yet?"

"I texted him; he said he was on his way," Jake said. "Hope he gets here soon," he added.

"It's Saturday," Emma reminded him. "He's got that thing on the weekends, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Gia said. "The robotics thing."

Noah was set to graduate with honors and a scholarship to Harwood Community College, where he would be assisting in the science department with a newly-formed robotics class. He'd already enlisted Tensou as his teaching assistant. Although still single, with some gentle pushing from Jake, he was stepping into the dating pool and there were a few prospects.

"They've been trying to get all the rules and stuff for that competition thing they want to enter," Troy said. "Noah said he thought he had it almost all figured out."

"We'll have to go watch," Emma said.

A flash of silver caught Troy's eye. "Hey, there's Orion!" He waved and his brother crossed the street, ducked around a few orange pylons, and met them on the curb.

Orion had joined the group in school and was finishing out the year with them. He enjoyed Earth history and math and science came easy from his time working in the mines on Andresia. When his Andresian last name had been too complicated to explain (and pronounce), Ryan and Kelsey had given him the Mitchell last name, officially putting Orion in the Grayson and Mitchell family. He lived with the Graysons in Harwood. In a few months when graduation happened, Orion's first plan was to go to Europe and see the world. He'd picked up a copy of a book by Dominic Hargan and was using it to outline his plans. Ryan and Kelsey were planning on joining him.

"Hey," Orion greeted them. "Let's go, I'm gonna be late for my shift!" He led the four other rangers into the mall and into the newly-reopened Ernie's Brain Freeze. Inside, the Rangers picked their favorite booth and sat down as Orion jumped behind the counter to clock in. After he'd grabbed his apron and his baseball cap, he handed the laminated menu to his brother. "Seriously?" Troy raised an eyebrow.

"I know for a fact you've got money," Orion shrugged. "You just got your allowance." With a wave, he drifted over to another table. Troy balled up a napkin and tossed it at him, nearly pegging Noah on his way in, his laptop bag bouncing on his hip. He slid in next to Troy.

"Sorry I'm late. Tensou and I were-"

"Working on the logistics," the others said together. It was becoming his favorite saying.

Noah turned red and ducked his head. 'Yeah," he said, and swiftly changed the subject. "Hey, have you guys seen the news?"

Troy looked at the others and shook his head. Noah pulled his laptop out and pulled up the Harwood paper.

Orion had popped by their table. "T-Rex footprints spotted near Sampson Caves," he read over Noah's shoulder. He raised an eyebrow. "That's up in Amber Beach. You don't think-"

"We're retired!" Jake objected quickly.

"Yeah, but Jake, someday, the day might come when they might need our help," Troy responded. "And we'll have to go. Just like my mom and dad and everybody came to help us when we needed it. We're part of the legacy," he said, looking at Emma, who grinned knowingly. Gia squeezed her arm.

"Once a Ranger, always a Ranger," Noah said thoughtfully. There was silence around the table as those words sunk in.

Then, Troy broke the silence. "All right, enough talk, more fro-yo!" He snapped his fingers at his brother. "Orion, if you would, please?" he ordered in a snooty-sounding accent.

Orion whacked him with his baseball cap and the others broke out in teasing laughter. Troy shook his head.

These were his friends. His teammates. His _family_.

And not for the last time in his life, Troy Burrows Grayson was _very_ happy his parents had moved to Harwood County.

_Fin._


End file.
